

















—' 








— 




















EDEN, 

OR 

THREE DAYS. A P oem 

BY 

H. E. MANVILLE. 







Cleveland: 

Printed and Published by J. F. Gepfert. 

1910 . 



























Copyrighted by H. E. Manville, 1910. 



Library of Congress 



2009 525052 


€ CI.A280252 










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4k 




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PREFACE. 


This work is not a play to be acted, but a 
Poem to be read. The Songs of Ida and 
Helen, and all the other parts, were composed 
by me, except a few lines here and there 
enclosed in quotation marks. 


A Story true greets you, 
That it may seem more 
eyes. 


in this disguise, 
fair to friendly 

H. E. M. 









To 


MARGARET M 














EDEN, 

OR 

THREE DAYS, A Poem. 


The Persons. 

Adam Mann, Farmer. 

Elmer Mann, his Nephew. 

Ann Mann, Wife of Adam. 

Ida Mann, their daughter. 
Margaret Lee, loved by Elmer. 
Eva May Lee, her Cousin. 


Scene: Mann's Villa, near Manville, Ohio. 
Time: May, Spanish-American War 


SUNDAY 

MORNING. The Orchard Path 

Eva Singing. 

Eva. It is morning in the garden, 

In the garden of the Lord: 

And the Prince appears as warden 
Of His wondrous wealth and Word. 











8 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


It is morning on the mountain, 

On the mountain of the Lord; 

And the Prince is at the fountain 
Of delight and all accord. 

Joyfully, the Prince is walking 
Midst the brilliant stones of fire; 

Earnestly with angels talking 
Of the future fate of Tyre. 

Beautiful beyond expression; 

Garments bearing precious stones; 

Richer far, his mind’s possession; 

Wiser, none who stand by thrones.* 

Hello! I see you there; so come along; 

I saw you stop and listen to my song. 

Adam enters. 

Adam. As I came from the barn, I heard 
sweet words 

Sung in silvery tones so like a bird’s; 

I sought the bird and found the fairy queen. 

Eva. Ida composed that song, what does it 
mean? 


*Ezek. 28:-12. 








I 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 9 

Adam. God chooses whom he will to teach 
and lead 

His people; He made David to be king; 

And Solomon he blest in word and deed, 

And so he blest in youth the prince you 
sing. 

The Lord had chosen Tyre to civilize 

The world; its cult contained a type of 
Christ; [wise 

Therefore, its prince was made so great and 

To be Jehovah’s great evangelist.* 

His ships should bear “the knowledge of 
the Lord ’ ’ 

To all the isles and lands to which they 
sailed; 

Like Solomon and many more he failed 

When called to practice and to preach the 
word. 

Eva. Like Jonah he deserved then to be 
whaled. 

Adam. Many a child is likewise born in 
Eden 

With all the virtues as unpolished gems; 

Many a hill suggests the mount of Heaven 

To saintly souls deserving diadems. 

*Ezek. 27;-3, 










10 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Enter Elmer, Singing. 

Elmer. “Her eyes are like the diamonds 
bright 

That sparkle in the dew.” 

Adam. Good morning, sir; how did you 
rest last night? 

Elmer. Pretty well, I thank you, and how 
are you? 

Adam. Em well. 

Eva. Good morning, Captain. 

Elmer. Good morning, Eva dear; 

Indeed, I was surprised to find you here. 

Eva. I’m very glad to meet you once again: 

When last you wrote you could not leave 
your men? 

Elmer. The phantoms of a Spanish fleet 
appear 

To many sailing on the southern sea; 

Our army halted, then I hastened here 

To learn why uncle urgently calls me. 

Adam. Eve talked much with your father 
and we have 

A proposition for you which I waive 

Until tomorrow. 








EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 



11 

Elmer. I see that Eve will be 

As tall as Adam’s cane before next year. 

Eva. I’ll soon be tall enough to box your 
ear. 

Elmer. I’m almost sure that someone 
wrote to me 

A week ago that Dick and Laura Lee 

And th’ girls had gone to Dixie. 

Eva. Papa and mama went; 

Maggie is here; Ida and I coaxed her 

To come with us; now she will not repent. 

Elmer. I’m sure that nothing dreadful 
will occur. 

Eva. Last night we had retired before 
you came. 

Listening, we heard them speak a lovely 
name; 

Adam. Elmer, you know Miss Lee, did 
you not say? 

Elmer. Yes, I met her a year ago at 
College. 

Eva. At that Commencement, Ida gradu¬ 
ated. 

I 






12 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Adam. I have encouraged her to seek for 
knowledge; 

I would be glad to see her early mated. 

Eva. Elmer, you and Maggie are not 
related. 

Adam. Eva has said just what I had in 
mind; 

Margaret is so beautiful and kind, 

Modest of mien and lovely as a dream 

Of paradise; ah, what a splendid team! 

Eva. When Maggie speaks of you a soft 
light comes 

Into her eyes and each cheek burns or 
blooms. 

Elmer. She might not like to hear you 
talk that way; 

Let’s change the subject; what a pleasant 
day? 

Ida enters. 

Ida. I’m glad to see you all enjoying life. 

Elmer. Eva was trying to stir up some 
strife; 

Cousins are we? Her aunt is Adam’s wife. 

Ida. You are cousins to me, so to each 
other. 










EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 13 

Eva. No, we are not; I’d like him for a 
brother. 

Adam. Good for you, Eva; let them try 
another. 

Ida. Would you not like to have him for a 
cousin? 

Eva. Yes, ma’am, I would love him more 
than a dozen. 

Ida. Well, live and hope—there I hear 
mama call; 

Breakfast is ready; come now, one and all. 

Exit. 

A. M. On the Lawn. 

Ida and Eva. 

Eva. Elmer and Maggie now are busy 
talking, 

And so I thought it time to go a walking. 

Ida. Sweet girl, I have high hopes of our 
success; 

Last week his letters cheered us less and 
less; 

The wind that wafts the Spanish to war 

Suddenly brings him home to us once more. 

Eva. Your papa’s letter brought him here 
it seems; 

That you caused it. I wonder if he dreams? 















14 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Ida. When Uncle Ira saw the situation, 

Then I suggested gently this solution — 

Maggie is coming down the path this way; 

Be very careful what you do and say. 

We must try hard to get them tied together, 

And keep them here with us until cool 
weather. 

Eva. The flowers are dressed all in their 
Sunday best. 

Ida. Pick now the loveliest for our sweet 
guest. 

Margaret enters. 

Margaret. Thank you, dear girls, this 
flower is sweet, indeed: 

I now forgive this rogue who left me at my 
need. 

Ida. I fear our northern boys will perish in 

Those fever-stricken isles before they win. 

Margaret. Cuba, a hot-bed of diseases all, 

Would surely be more healthful late next 
fall. 

Eva. We must coax Elmer not to go down 
there; 

He is so gentle, manly, brave and fair. 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 15 

Margaret. Our hero must not fail and 
meet the fate 

Of prince and prophet whom the fishes ate. 

Eva. No, nor on land be eaten by the 
snakes; 

Persuade him, Maggie, do it for our sakes. 

Margaret. I mean he must not fail to do 
his duty 

Altho’ beset by danger, love and beauty. 

• 

Ida. Excuse me girls, for I must go and 
see 

If mama has some work laid out for me. 

Exit. 

Margaret. Certainly— 

They have two orchards, have they not? 

One over north, the other in that lot. 

Eva. Yes, ma’am; they have all kinds of 
fine fruit trees; 

Those over north are older trees than these; 

East Hill shaped like a star in Orchard 
Knob: 

To climb that high North Hill makes my 
heart throb. 







16 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Margaret. The words of Poe are running 
in my mind; 

I think this house is surely of that kind: 

“ In the greenest of our valleys 
By good angels tenanted, 

Once a fair and stately palace— 

Radiant palace—reared its head." 

Eva. That poem is in papa’s old Fifth 
Reader; 

I do not like the way the poem ends. 

Margaret. Nor I; Poe might have been 
a brilliant leader, 

An honor to his country and his friends; 

How fair the border flowers along the path 

Do look, fresh from their morning dewy 
bath. 

Eva. The houses and the barns stand on a 
terrace; 

Tho’ narrow near the cave, becoming broad 

Toward the east and south, its level surface 

Extends around the garden to the road. 

Ida re-enters. 

Margaret. I do not admire these grand 
old giant oaks; 

Their massive trunks and mighty spreading 
branches 

And tops that tower above us little folks 

Serenely high like domes and spires of 
churches. 










EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


17 


Ida. I love the oaks and elms and all the 
trees; 

It has been my delight since childhood days 

To watch their lofty tops sway in the breeze; 

They give me constant joy in countless ways. 

Margaret. It seems to me that each 
gigantic tree 

Was placed by chance just where it ought 
to be. 

Ida. Grandfather built the house beyond 
the spring; 

The road round above the water-fall; 

And when he cleared the land be left this 
wing— 

He left these stately trees, the large and 
tall. 

Father taught in the' city High School hive 

Three years and wrote on scientific themes; 

Then his health failed; alarmed and scarce 
alive 

He sought the scenes of youthful hopes and 
dreams. 

He helped about the farm; his health 
returned; 

Grandfather gave to him the upper place, 

Because my father was in love he learned 

And wished to settle and a wife embrace. 






18 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


My father built the house on yonder road; 

There I was born; that was my first abode. 

That autumn, Leo Johnson came along, 

Admired this place and sang a pleasing song. 

Grandfather being old and broken down 

Sold him the house and land and moved to 
town. 

This place soon bloomed like some bright 
flower’s expansion, 

And like a dream arose this stately mansion. 

Margaret. See how those lofty columns 
rise aloof, 

Supporting both the balcony and th’ roof. 

Was it not planned like some Italian villa. 

To suit the views of beautiful Priscilla, 

Or that sweet southern maid in light man¬ 
tilla? 

Ida. Possibly, but I think he had in mind 

A poem, allegorical in kind; 

He was a victim of sly Cupid’s dart, 

And built this house for his English sweet¬ 
heart. 

Margaret. Do tell me; did he bring her 
over here? 

Ida. No, ma’am; her noble friends would 
interfere; 














EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 19 

So she refused to cross the broad Atlantic; 
Their history is sad and quite romantic. 

His love was young and fair, of noble birth; 
Her parents gave her to a rich young lord; 
Within the year, his horse threw him to 
earth. 

Leo left London of his own accord. 

Two years he painted on Italian soil; 

Then he came to our great Centennial; 
Choosing the West as his new field for toil, 
He traveled much, and settled here that fall. 

Sweet letters to his love were sent by Leo 
Entreating her to leave her wealth and 
station 

And proud relation and live here in Ohio; 
But she desired a reconciliation. 

I found some of his letters in the attic 
Copies of those he sent; you will enjoy 
Reading them all so tender and emphatic; 
And verses written to him when a boy. 

Margaret. I do remember now that you 
told me 

Of Leo, at the University. 

Ida. Those heaps of papers have in many 
ways 

A fascination and delight for me 









20 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


That I find nowhere else; and on dull days 

I feel to them with glee and ecstasy. 

Behold, I am revealing hidden treasure, 

My own dear world full of romance and 
beauty; 

Earth had for him no fairer, sweeter 
pleasure 

Than this devotion to art, love and duty. 

I think that you will find this place and life 

Thro’-out does represent to some extent, 

(Omitting many wars and scenes of strife), 

Our early national development. 

Margaret. Your mother represents the 
older East, 

And Elmer, I suppose, stands for the West; 

Indeed I am reminded of the nation, 

And some things lead the mind back to 
creation. 

Ida. Yes, scenes from Raphael’s are on 
our wall, 

Along with Eve’s temptation and the Fall. 

Margaret. Isn’t your magnificent dining¬ 
room between 

The wings, too dark for frescoes to be seen? 









EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


21 


Ida. No, they may be distinctly seen at 
twilight; 

A flood of light flows thro’ the spacious 
skylight. 

Margaret. I’11 look at them more closely, 
when we go 

To lunch, altho’ such good things are below, 

Ida. These paintings show great love for 
rocks and rills, 

Flowers, green fields, blue sky and tree- 
crowned hills. 

Eva. Elmer was sitting under that elm tree 

And singing Beautiful Annabel Lee. 

Ida. That’s one of Poe’s best poems dear 
to me. 

Elmer enters. 

Elmer. How Eva May enjoys life as your 
dear! 

She is so bright and lively when out here. 

Margaret. You seem to be enjoying life 
yourself 

To-day, as much as Eva, the little elf. 

Elmer. Do you not think Ohio beautiful? 

Margaret. Yes, almost any place to-day 
tho’ dull. 










22 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Ida. The world is beautiful tho’ full of sin. 

To those who are “all beautiful within.” ' 

Eva. The dusty, noisy city, quiet never; 

0, how I wish we could live here forever. 

Ida. You all could if you would live here 
forever, 

Or till necessity our band shall sever. 

Elmer. My time is brief, I know; for any 
hour 

I may receive a summons to the war; 

The army cannot now embark, nor meet, 

Until the navy finds Cervera’s fleet. 

Ida. Improve the days, if they are flying- 
fast 

Then “ live each day as if it were the last. ” 

Elmer. Thank you; there is much wisdom 
in those words, 

Especially, for those who carry swords. 

Ida. I wish you all to be as happy here 

As I in Maggie’s southern home, last year. 

Margaret. Thank you, my dear; life’s 

joy if you are near. 

Elmer. Grandfather’s garden was before 
his house. 

*Plato. 















EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


23 


Ida. Because it was a level, fertile lot 

Between the brook and flowing spring, and 
thus 

Easy to irrigate thro’ any plot. 

Margaret. Ida had told me much, but 
now I see 

Her home; “behold, the half was not told 
me.”* 

Eva. This is Eden; the folks live in the 
garden. 

Ida. To keep the chickens out we fenced 
the yard in. 

Margaret. It’s an ideal place to raise a 
bard in. 

Ida. ITl give you leave to try—I beg your 
pardon. 

Elmer. Lep sometimes called this place 
Freeman Villa; 

Altho’ he could not vote in this free state, 

My chum has gone to Dewey at Manilla; 

Another fleet will sail from the Golden Gate. 

Margaret. To-day, let’s talk of peace and 
Leo’s fate. 


I. King's x. 7. 














24 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Ida. His loving mother named him Leo for 
Some famous old Byzantine emperor; 

His father fancied him a hopeful scion 
Of that grand old hero, the British Lion. 

In eighty-six, he had obtained permission 
And sent some paintings to an Exhibition.* 
The artist was soon sought for with concern 
And men of rank invited his return. 

She wrote, “ My relatives release my hand: 
We may write and live on my own land.” 
This “villa” was for sale; he must go see 
His true-love and attend the Jubilee 
Of Queen Victoria, —must go that fall. 

We sold our farm, and bought this, stock 
and all. 

Elmer. When was the Exposition of the 
Three 

Americas held in New Orleans, Miss Lee? 
Margaret. In eighty-five and six; my 
parents went; 

Sister and I stayed with paternal aunt,— 
These rustic seats are so convenient. 

Ida. Johnson went to the Paris Exposition; 
And there he joined some kind of expedition 
To the East; he died upon the way 
Of fever in the city of Bombay. 

The Indian and Colonial Exhibition was opened in London 
by the Queen, May 4, 1886, 









EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


25 


Elmer. His mother was a beauty in her 
day, 

Also, the sweetest singer, did he say? 

Ida. Her voice was weak; she seldom sang 
in halls; 

The parties of the great made many calls. 

Eva, please sing for us that pretty song, 

“ Helen in London;” it is none too long. 

Eva sings. 

I am often filled with longing 
For my old ancestral home; 

And I see the pilgrims thronging 
Roads to Florence and to Rome. 

Once again I hear the singing 
Of the workers, men and maids, 

In the villa vineyard clinging 
To the cliffs along the grades. 

In my dreams I meet and talk with 
Loved ones living far away 

In the old home and I walk with 
Them once more at close of day. 

There the crystal brook is flowing 
Mid the banks of flowers so fair; 

While up here, perhaps, it’s snowing, 

Or a thick fog fills the air. 

Margaret. I can now sympathize with 
her poor soul; 

Eve spent two winters in the North at school. 













26 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Leo left London, traveled at his leisure; 

He built this house, and buried here his 
treasure? 

Ida. Yes, and I think it yet remains all 
buried 

In the garden near where he worked and 
worried. 

Elmer. Years afterward, he dug and 
could not find it. 

He thought a tramp that watched him had 
purloined it. 

Ida. Leo had lost his chart; and guessed 
the ground; 

He gave it all to me, if ever found. 

Elmer. I will help dig for it, as you may 
measure. 

Ida. Thank you; I will pay you out of the 
treasure. 

Margaret. These artists seem to have a 
checkered course. 

Elmer. Will you repeat some of your 
latest verse? 

Ida. I found some papers in an attic nook. 









iiwmwMWWM'wmia 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 27 

Faded an torn, from these I made a book: 

I, Helen Johnson, born in Nice, 

Am certainly of Greek descent; 

My ancestors loved lore and peace, 

And early came from the Orient. 

They dw.elt secure for centuries 
In quiet Riviera vales, 

And as secluded city bees 

From lovely Florence to Marseilles. 

In youth my parents filled my mind 
With old traditions of our race, 

With teachings of a secret kind, 

Which I, for you, will briefly trace. 

Maids lost their cast in this loved cult 
By marrying a foreign man; 

Now they escape that sad result, 

No longer secret is our clan. 

My darling baby, I address 
You now, as if you were a man; 

God grant you health and happiness 
And years of life these lines to scan. 

Do not worry, for God is good, 

And you may have no cause for sorrow; 

Take Christ and angels for thought food, 

Trust God and work for each to-morrow. 

Our public worship oft attend, 

Especially on each great day; 

To worship God, is our chief end; 

With others pray in their own way. 










EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer. You do not think of posing as a 
preacher? 

Ida. No, I am just a humble, cheerful 
teacher. 

Ann enters. 

Ann. I like to hear you read; please now 
proceed. 

Ida. Speak gently and avoid all strife, 

Unless grave reason says, “Resist;” 

An evil tongue cuts like a knife; 

Provoke not your antagonist. 

Ann. If brothers and all men would cease 
their strife 

And have Christ in their hearts, Earth 
would be Eden; 

This is the open secret of a happy life; 

Be not that “brilliant madman” Charles 
of Sweden, 

Be rather like wise Bjornson’s Happy Boy 

Who won both wife and land, not like Rob 
Roy. 

Elmer. I thank you Aunt, for your well- 
meant advice; 

King David was a man to God’s own heart; 

He does not change; earth is not paradise; 

The new was built upon the older part. 











EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


29 


Ida. Reports of deaths in Cuba by starva¬ 
tion,* 

Do stir our souls and rouse our indignation. 

Elmer. Walter Malone spoke in a stirring 
tone; 

One stanza, I can now recall alone: 

“ We sigh for sufferings of the ancient years 
While men to-day are tortured, hanged and shot, 

While starving babes and women shed their tears, 
And while this island Eden seems a blot.” 

All thro' the island, death and devastation 

Are the results of Spanish occupation.— 

I beg your pardon, Aunt, and yours Miss Lee; 

You see, my feelings ran away with me. 

Eva. Papa and mama from the Southland 
come! 

Ell make a big bouquet to carry home 

Of roses, lilies, stocks and tulips, too, 

Red, white and yellow, bound with flags of 
blue. 

Elmer. For that selection, Eva, I thank 
you; 

Let the chief colors be red, white and blue. 

Eva. Yes, sir, I will; how pretty they will 
look; 

To find the flags, I must go to the brook. 

Spain deliberately starved to death one-sixth of the in¬ 
habitants in Cuba.—The History Americana, p. 1866. 


















30 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Ann. Laura and I had glorious times when 
young 

Gathering flowers and running wild among 

The hills around our happy eastern home. 

Eva. Yes, mama often speaks of that to 
some. 

Ann. My sister Laura may let you girls 
stay 

With me this summer; Eve, what do you say? 

Eva. Oh, I should be delighted, dear Aunt 
Ann; 

Won’t you stay too, you warlike Captain 
Mann? 

Ida. My favorite flower is the pure white 
rose; 

Flower symbols mean much more than some 
suppose. 

Margaret. I love a rich carnation wet 
with dew. 

Elmer. I chose the reddest rose that ever 
blew. 

Eva. I chose this rose both red and white 
all thro’; 












EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


31 


Now, Aunt, please choose some flower that 
will tally. 

Ann. Dear child, I choose the lily of the 
valley, — 

Adam is going now to get the horse; 

We will all go to church to-day, of course? 

Exit Ann and Ida. 

Eva. Say, Ida has a high-toned eastern 
beau, 

I saw him here about a week ago; 

There, Maggie, do not frown upon me so, 

I do not always tell quite all I know. 

Elmer. Yes, I heard that at home; no 
harm is done 

By Eva now, for I will tell no one. 

Ida is good; she seems to have a brightness 

Angelic, and she moves with airy lightness. 

Margaret. At school, I noticed that she 
sometimes seemed 

Most like a saint, at other times she dreamed. 

Elmer. She has those peach-bloom tints 
of perfect health 

Which poets, painters, all admire as wealth. 

Eva. Look at those beds of bright geran¬ 
iums; 

See how they lean together like old chums. 








32 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Margaret. This grouping of geraniums 
shows art: 

Which bed do you prefer, the star or heart? 

Elmer. I am delighted with that ruddy 
star; 

For Mars, the stern old god, pepares for war; 

In this beautiful heart, I most admire 

The Mount of Snow amid the Hills* of 
fire; 

May I inquire what you think may trans¬ 
pire? 

Margaret. I think the leaves are likely 
to transpire, 

Unless the frost shall cause them to expire. 

Elmer. Oh no, altho’ The Snow is grow¬ 
ing here, 

They have no great anxiety nor fear, 

For now the beauty of the South is near. 

Margaret. I thank you, Captain, for the 
compliment. 

Eva. Ida is coming as if she were sent. 

Adam and Ida enter. 

Ida. WeTl go before the time as understood, 

And drive around to see the neighborhood. 

Exit Margaret and Eva. 

Varieties of Geraniums, 












EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 33 

Elmer, will you ride to the church to-day? 

It will be pleasant driving anyway. 

Elmer. I wish to see old friends, my time 
is fleeting; 

Uncle and I may go direct to meeting. 

Adam. Yes, we will linger here awhile 
and talk; 

If we decide to go to church, we’ll walk. 

Ida. Elmer, what do you think of Maggie 
Lee? 

Elmer. Frankly, I think she is the girl 
for me. 

Adam. I think that you have wisely chosen 
her; 

She is as welcome here as if she were 

The queen of the south and came with 
eunuch drones 

Bearing much spice and gold and precious 
stones. 

Ida. Margaret has the sweetest disposition 

Which curbs her pride and keeps her quite 
serene; 

But do not rouse her fiery indignation, 

The fearful anger of an injured queen. 

Elmer. I do not care a rap, if she has 
snap. 

i - 













34 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Ida. Well, do not fail to come to church 
with Pap. Exit Ida. 

Elmer. Uncle, did Ida find those Johnson 
songs? 

Adam. She found some letters, but the 
verse belongs 

To later times, and reading much between 
the lines. 

Elmer. Those letters seem to me to be 
rich mines. 

Adam. Ida enjoys the simple healthful life, 

We lead here on the farm; she finds great 
joy 

In nature’s peaceful scenes, and in the strife 

Of the elements, if they do not destroy; 

When the wind plays upon a thousand harps 

The grand Creation March, with flats and 
sharps; 

Or when the forest monarchs sway and nod 

Helping to chant the Thunder Psalm of God; 

Let all recall the happy days of youth 

And life enjoy in field and bower and booth. 

Elmer. Infinite Power might easily create 

Fountains of Youth like that the Spaniard 
sought; 

— 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


35 


Or trees of life like that from which we ate 

Before the Fall; blessings not to be bought. 

Adam. Some wicked men would soon by 
stratagem 

Seize all of them, fount and trees, root and 
stem, 

And then to slavery the weak condemn. 

Elmer. Aunt Ann says Jesus is the Fount 
of Youth. 

Adam. Heed now your Aunt’s kind words 
of warning; 

You are going to fight a cruel foe, 

In that dread climate, in the siege and 
storming 

Disease and death will dog you as you go. 

At our decease the merest shred of faith 

May give a world of comfort to our wraith; 

In Hades, wicked spirits in their dearth 

Can think of nothing but their life on earth. 

Elmer. God could let vital facts, wrangled 
about, 

Be proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. 

Adam. Yes, God could lift the veil, then 
no sane man 

Could doubt the truth; but that is not his 
plan. 











36 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Elmer. Probation may explain his govern¬ 
ment; 

I wished to talk with you before I went. 

I read a book last winter, Paradise Found 
or the cradle of the human race 

Was near the northern pole, a strange 
device, 

With ‘ ‘William Warren, Boston, ’’ on its face. 

Adam. I have the book, and with respect, 
not slighting 

His learning, say, he has mistaken much 

That was figurative for truth as such; 

Often he quotes from Miller’s early writing. 

That lower life began there is its burden; 

And I do not object to that conclusion; 

But when he tries to locate there the Garden 

We reach the ground of his profound illu¬ 
sion. — 

I think that we should go to church to-day? 

Elmer. Yes, let us go and visit on the 
way. . Exit. 

P. M.—Near the Cave. 

Elmer, Ida and Margaret. 

Elmer. Eva is in the cave; I saw her glide. 

Margaret. One can walk in; how large 
is it inside? 









EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


37 


Ida. About the same size for a rod or 
more; 

It then slopes steeply upward from the floor 

And tapers to a point at height of door, 

Thro’ which this little rill does always pour. 

Elmer. Grandfather made a door for it, I 
know, 

And used it for a milk-house long ago. 

Margaret. I think that someone spoke 
his name last night? 

Elmer. Abner, which means, he said, 
“ father of light. ” 

Margaret. Eva, come out, or something 
there may catch you! 

Eva. I thought I would play bugaboo to 
match you. 

Elmer. Look how distinct the different 
strata are 

Of which the cliff is formed, as band and 
bar. 

Margaret. I was observing colors num¬ 
erous, 

The shades are fine and quite harmonious. 

Ida. Up yonder, stony steps ascend the 

cliff. 














EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Eva. I’m going up above you people, if 

Exit. 

Elmer. What torrents must have poured 
thro’ here for ages, 

To wear away these strata, Nature’s pages. 

Ida. Elmer, some day please help me 
make this place 

Look somewhat like the mouth of Mam¬ 
moth Cave. 

Elmer. No stream flows out of it. 

Ida. But we can pave 

It over with these slabs of stone a space 

And call it Echo River. 

Eva enters above. 

Eva. I see you all! 

Hello! you folks down there look very small. 

Margaret. Be careful, Eva, that you do 
not fall. 

Eva. This tree you see would shelter me 
thro’ showers: 

Ida, what has become of all the flowers? 

Ida. The sheep eat them; come down! 
those sheep of ours— 






EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


39 


Two big- cross sheep with horns in that field 
stay, — 

Let us walk up the brook a little way. 

Margaret. This is a very rocky water-course 

And plainly shows swift running water’s 
force. 

Ida. We named this pass “The Narrows, ” 
long ago, 

The famous strait below New York, you 
know. 

Elmer. At flood the water flows at a great 
rate; 

We used to call this narrow gap “Hell- 
Gate. ’’ 

Margaret. What a delightful scent per¬ 
fumes the breeze! 

Isn’t Eden just beyond that group of trees? 

Ida. There is a locust or acacia grove 

Beside the brook not very far above; 

Boys, long ago, set them along the steep. 

Eva re-enters. 

Eva. Say, why does uncle keep such ugly 
sheep? 

Ida. You like the little lambs that skip 
and play? 









40 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Eva. Oh yes, I saw them play the other 
clay. 

Ida. They are between here and the road: 
the scrubs 

Will eat the flowers and the little shrubs; 

We may go to the woods some other day 

And find wild flowers where no sheep can 
stray. 

Eva. Let us all go to-morrow, if we may. 

Elmer And see the lake before I go away. 

Margaret. I like to see that silver lake- 
let, too. 

Ida. If nothing hinders, I will go with you. 

Margaret. Let’s rest awhile on these 
smooth stones as stools; 

It is so cool and pleasant near these pools. 

Eva. Now, Ida, dear, please tell a story 
true. 

Ida. Do you still love to hear those little 
stories 

Which we once held among our greater 
glories? 

Elmer. Indeed I do, and often use them 
too; 















EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


41 


I ask no child to write a composition, 

Unless he has an old head on young 
shoulders, 

On some dry theme or abstract proposition; 
We may as well ask him to lift these boulders. 

Ida. Once on a warm and sunny afternnon; 

It was about the middle of last June; 

I sat beside the creek, the water deep. 

And musing on the East, fell fast asleep. 

I seemed to stand beside an eastern stream; 

All things shone in the sunshine’s golden gleam. 

A royal pleasure boat lay near the bank; 

Under the awning sat a girl of rank. 

While many other dark-eyed girls on shore 
Gathered bright flowers, I never saw before. 

They led me down the bank o’er golden sand 
And pearly shells; the boat came to the land. 

We entered and found seats on cushions deep, 

And watched the silver fishes play and leap; 

And while the girls around all laugh and speak 
The boat is floating slowly down the creek. 

On brilliant flowery banks stand wild fruit tree 
Laden with luscious fruit which scents the breeze; 
They guide the boat along the side most sweet. 
And pick and pass ripe fruit for all to eat. 

Erelong, the creek became a river wide; 

A stately city stood along one side; 

With sweetest strains of music and glad song 
A band of merry maids, we float along. 








42 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


We saw the palaces and lofty towers 
Reflected in the water, gay with flowers; 

While youth and maiden sitting in cool bowers 
Dallied during the sunny summer hours. 

They turned the barge toward a palace grand 
Whose golden dome illumined all the place; 
Persons in royal dress stood on the land,— 

I woke, the sun was shining in my face. 

Elmer. That seems to be the cream of 
golden dreams. 

Ida. Now, Maggie, you tell us a fairy tale 
Of Prince, or Princess, in some lonely vale. 

Margaret. This Princess born in that far 
eastern clime 

Was the most famous beauty of her time: 

A certain king of northern India 

Betrothed his fairest daughter, Tulip Cheek, 

To a young king of Central Asia, 

Who stayed at home and let his father seek. 

[Margaret gives a synopsis of the story.] 

The king disguised had been with them as poet, 
And she had loved the king and did not know it. 

Can no one guess before I tell you Moore? 

Ida. I say that Tulip Cheek was Lalla 
Rookh. 

Elmer. Indeed! I’ll seek and read that 
famous book. 











EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


43 


Margaret. I think that Eva is prepared 
to soar? 

Eva. In the Arabian Nights I read last 
year 

About a wicked sultan of Cashmere: 

[Eva tells about the artificial horse.] 

Ida. That was well done, our youngest, 
dearest one; 

I read about that sultan of Cashmere, 

And the horse that flew thro’ the atmosphere. 

The Hindoo had a queer enchanted horse; 

The wish of the rider directed its course; 

He took the princess, turned a peg with his hand, 
And they flew away to a foreign land. 

Elmer, tell us about your prancing steed 
Of noble breed, your strong support in need. 

Elmer. My favorite horse goes on the 
solid ground 

And leaves all others in the dust behind; 
Swiftly he speeds along like some keen hound 
Pursuing game, or racing with the wind. 

I choose that marvel of the modern world, 
The horse of iron, (the fiery steed for me), 
By means of which ourselves and goods are 
hurled 

Swiftly and safely overland from sea to sea. 











44 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


I once dreamed of a great and dreadful 
battle 

In which I seemed to fiercely fight for hours, 

During the noisy bellowing of cattle 

Upon a swiftly passing train of cars; 

Last fall, our train was side-tracked in the 
West, 

And I had traveled far without much rest. 

Ida. In moments of great danger, some 
have seen 

Their past life rise in view; all clear and 
true 

Were long forgotten scenes; the good, the 
mean 

Words, thoughts and deeds pass swiftly in 
review. 

Elmer. In Etidorhpa or The End of 
Earth* 

A strange romance by our John Uri Lloyd, 

The hero walks thro’ caverns mid a dearth 

Of light and air, led by the strangest guide. 

He dreamed that he was in the drunkards’ 
den, 

When tempted there to drink that he 
refused 

Pub. by Dodd, Mead & Co., N. Y. 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 45 


And all the gross, misshapen, monstrous 
men 

Confused, rushed out like school-boys when 
excused. 

He found that he was in bright fairyland; 

A band of fair and happy maidens came 

And danced and sang; then came a fairer 
band; 

Another and another did the same. 

A maiden came the fairest of them all 

From that bright land beyond the End of 
Earth; 

She said, “You must be tempted and not 
fall; 

I came that you might know my name and 
worth . 7 ’ 

The fairy scene soon changed, and morning 
broke; 

He wandered in a desert far and wide- 

That he had slept a moment and awoke, 

Was proven to him by his faithful guide. 

Eva. Her picture looks like Ida; papa read 

Her name; we spell it backward so he said. 

Elmer. Ida does look like Etidorhpa so 

Much more than any other girl I know. 

Adam enters above. 

Adam. Hello! what are you doing down in 
there? 







46 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer. Uncle, will you come down and 
take a chair? 


Exit Adam. 


Eva. Oh, girls, look yonder at that bright 
red bird; 

Now, hear him sing; he wishes to be heard 

Ida. Several red-birds stay around this 
place. 

Margaret. That pretty bird has cheerful¬ 
ness and grace; 

He and his rival there now sing a race. 

Adam enters. 

Adam. You look like birds on rocks, watch¬ 
ing for fish. 

Elmer. Will you please come and sit be¬ 
side the dish; 

You may have any fish, the kind you wish. 

Adam. I thought to keep from falling fast 
asleep 

Ed walk around the hill to see the sheep. 

Elmer. I called the girls attention to 
geology; 

Science certainly contradicts theology? 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


47 


Adam. Genesis is poetic prose, the seven 

Great Days may stand for epochs vast in 
time; 

Process omitted; chief results are given 

As seen by the seer in visions most sublime. 

The liquid globe revolved in vapors gray 

Thro’ which the rays of sunlight dimly 
shone 

Until the great fourth day rolling clouds 
away 

Revealed the morning sky with stars thick 
sown. 

Elmer. Can Milton’s poem stand with 
evolution 

In our great scientific revolution? 

Adam. Let us regard his poems as we do 

Those paintings rare and old to pilgrims 
shown, 

Of sacred scenes and classic fables too; 

Creation and Aurora are well known. 

Elmer. Those paintings partly copied on 
your wall 

And ceiling, are admired by all. 

Adam. I hold the beautiful traditions old 

With reverence and love, as if all gold; 

I oft recall, and all could if they would. 













48 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


The happy thoughts of innocent 'childhood; 
What a relief to turn to them once more 
Amid our scientific thrashing-floor. 

Ida. I like the Fourth Book of Paradise 
Lost 

For its description; I enjoy it most. 

Margaret. The Fifth Book is my favorite, 
because 

It shows the joys of immortality, 

Eden and Heaven, and the social laws 
Of truly Southern hospitality. 

Elmer. I choose the Sixth Book for its 
battles grand. 

The most sublime description to be found; 

I have recited it to my command, 

And they transfer its scenes to Cuban 
ground; 

My mother had me learn it when a boy, 

And I recall it now with martial joy. 

Eva. I’ve only read a little here and there; 
But mostly where some things were made 
each day; 

All things on earth and in the sea and air; 
Altho’ some say it was not done that way. 
Now, Uncle, follow suit and like the rest, 
Tell us which book of all you like the best. 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


49 


Adam. If I must make a choice now, let 
it be 

Adam’s own story in the Eighth for me; 

But I read all the twelve, exalt and vote. 

Them vastly greater than all else he wrote. 

But most young people like discourse less 
deep; 

Excuse me, I must go and count the sheep. 

Eva. Uncle, please may I see the lambkins 
play? 

Adam. Yes, Eva May, just come along this 
way. Exit Adam and Eva. 

Ida. Whenever Eva comes out here, poor 
child, 

Her joy is great, for she can here run wild. 

Margaret. Will someone tell us more of 
Moore, or Milton? 

Elmer. Ida, please lead, you have a steed 
to lilt on. 

Ida. My flying horse delights to take a jaunt 

Across the ocean; and like Milton still 

“Nightly, I wander where the muses haunt 

Clear spring, or grove, or sunny hill.” 

The gladdest poem Milton ever wrote, 

L’Allegro charming, delicate and free, 

Also, his sweetest of more serious note 

II Penseroso, are very dear to me. 








50 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer. They are rare gems, or gemini of 
light, 

One for our left, the other for our right. - 

Let us all go to town this afternoon; 

I wish Miss Lee and Eve to meet my mother; 

If Adam favors this we may go soon? 

Margaret. If I should go, would you for¬ 
give your brother? 

Elmer. I would. 

Ida. And go with us to church to-night? 

Elmer. All which I will perform; yes, 
honor bright. 

Ida and Margaret, Well, we will go. 

Elmer. Good! 

Ida. Ell get dinner soon. 

Margaret. Let us help you and get it 
sooner done? 

Ida. “Too many cooks might spoil the 
broth/’ you know. 

Margaret. We will excuse you now, if 
you must go. Exit Ida. 

Elmer. There goes the loveliest girl, save 
one, that lives, 








EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


51 


A goddess of the Greeks, she loves and 
gives; 

With sweet seductive glide she moves along 

As if she heard the music of a song. 

Margaret. She is as good as she is beau¬ 
tiful; 

At school she was so kind and dutiful. 

Elmer. You have read Tennyson’s Palace 
of Art; 

Is not the “villa” built like that in part? 

Margaret. It is not built upon a lofty crag, 

Nor is it gorgeous as an Eastern flag? 

Elmer. He left his native land and all his 
race, 

And built a palace in this lonely place; 

It stands upon a broad flat stone, a block, 

Which we in former times called Table Rock. 

Margaret. I see there is a central covered 
court, 

The dining-room, and four square lawns in 
shade. 

And balconies which colonnades support, 

And on the highest roof a balustrade. 

Elmer. The shrubs are massed in corners 
of the yard; 

And more inside the house the poem looms 










52 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


On all the walls, and so they do regard 
It as a guide-book to the paintings and the 
l'ooms. 

Margaret. Is it possible! yes, Ida once 
did say 

As much, at school; let us walk down that 

way. Exeunt. 

MONDAY. 

MORNING. — In the Garden. 

Elmer, Ida, Margaret and Eva. 

Ida. This is about the place that Leo said 
He buried it, south of an apple-tree 
Which died and soon was gone; a tramper 
fled; 

“Years afterward I dug in vain,” said he, 
“ I think that vagabond was watching me.” 
I found a pamphlet of the propaganda, 

In it was Leo’s long-lost memoranda; 

We cannot read it, tho’ I have tried Poe 
And all the other methods that I know. 

floor 
4 
3 

for treasury. ” 

Elmer. The letters look like Hebrew marks 
to me. 


i i 

9 















EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


53 


Ida. No, they are neither Hebrew nor 
Chaldee. 

Elmer. Nearly two years ago, I think that 
Gerald 

Explained a cipher, in the New York 
Herald, 

Of little dotted squares which he had read 

Upon the tombstone of a man long dead. 

Make me a copy of it, if you choose, 

I’ll wear it as a charm against the blues; 

Well, I will dig here where you set the stake. 

Ida. I guess the numbers mean yards from 
the house, 

Or else feet from the fence; if you will make 

An excavation, you will favor us. 

For I shall give to each one of these girls 

A diamond ring, or a pair of pearls. 

The stone fruit jar contains these precious 

things; 

Gold coin and chains, and pearls and 
diamond rings. 

Elmer. Will someone tell a story while I 
dig? 

Eva. Maggie, tell one, or I will use this 
twig. 







54 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Margaret. A noble youth named Gareth 
wished to fight 

In jousts and wars; his careful mother could 

Not let him ask the king to dub him knight; 

Urged him to hunt the deer thro' field and 
wood. 

[Margaret gives synopsis of Gareth and 

Lynette]. 

Eva. Say, that is equal to a fairy tale. 

Elmer. Yes, tell me such until the stars 
turn pale. 

Ida. I wager you my little finger-ring, 

You found that in an Idyl of the King. 

Margaret. Now, Eva, you tell something 
just as big, 

Or I may use this slender, tempting twig. 

Eva. Last winter, papa read a book about 

A young sea captain who came home from 
sea 

And buried money in a garden lot. 

In a small iron box beneath a tree. 

Some jealous, wicked men caused his arrest, 

And he was falsely kept confined below, 

Thro’ long, long years; and those who loved 
him best 










■am 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 55 

Thought he was dead; his sweet-heart wed 
his foe. 

And old man dying there told of great wealth 

Concealed in caves within a certain isle; 

Our hero cherished hope and kept his health 

And did at length escape from durance vile. 

He sought and found the island cave; behold! 

A splendid royal room all richly furnished, 

And piles of precious stones and heaps of 
gold, 

Jewels and pearls and bars of gold unburn¬ 
ished. 

He called himself a Count, and helped his 
faiends, 

And drove his foes at last to dreadful ends. 

Margaret. Can no one guess the book ? I 
think her Pa 

Read Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas. 

Elmer. There, Ida I have found a bed of 
gravel 

Thro’ which Leo’s post-auger could not 
travel. 

There, now, dear girls, do not give way to 
sorrow 

For I will dig again, perhaps, to-morrow. 

I wish to practice also with the spade, 

So that in digging trenches I can aid. 

Lately, I have been reading Stevenson's 











56 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Trearure Island, a rattling*, rough sea 
story, 

Told by the boy among the daring* ones 

Who shared adventures, profits and the 
glory. 

[He gives a synopsis of the book.] 

Ida. Now, I will tell a story while you rest; 

Of all such tales, I think, this is the best; 

Two friends were sitting by the fire upon 

An island near the Carolina coast; 

One held a sheet on which a skull was drawn. 

He looked, and then returned it to his host. 

[She tells about The Gold Bug.] 

Margaret. Can Elmer guess the author 
of that story? 

Elmer. The tale is from Poe’s Bug of 
G oLD-en glory. 

Eva. There is a blue-bird’s nest in that 
old post? 

Ida. Yes, and that bright blue bird, you 
see, is host. 

Eva sings. Oh, if I were that pretty blue 
bird, 

I’d live in leafy bowers. 
















EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


57 


And build my nest in the lilac bush 

Among its fragrant flowers. 

Elmer. Yonder is Adam working hard 
alone; 

I will now hasten to him and atone. 

Exeunt 

A. M. — The Old Orchard. 

Adam piling brush: Elmer enters. 

Elmer. Make ready now, that we may 
celebrate! 

Adam. I guess that you discovered noth¬ 
ing great? 

For Johnson said that he dug deep and wide 
Until he was entirely satisfied. 

Elmer. I dug to please the girls, and 
also for 

The exercise and practice for the war. 

Adam. Your company will soon be under 
fire. 

Elmer. That is just what we asked and 
most desire. 

Adam. You now remind me of the Light 
Brigade, 

And of the wild and needles charge they 
made; 














58 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


You may not charge and fight like the six 
hundred, 

Yet I say plainly that someone has blundered. 

Elmer. Is it the captain, or the President? 

Adam. I also entertain some sentiment; 

It would have better pleased your folks and 
me 

If you led some Ohio company. 

Elmer. I had been with the boys well 
nigh two years; 

They were unanimous, so it appears. 

Adam. The President is calm and seems 
discreet, 

But can he hold you back until our fleet 

Controls the Cuban waters? Else the tide 

Of public sentiment on which you ride 

May bear you on until your transports meet 

And sink before some hostile Spanish fleet* 

Elmer. We are just now held back on 
that account; 

The danger seems to me of less amount. 

Adam. The half has not been told; there is a 
leak 

“If the Spanish fleet should pounce upon our transports, loaded 
with soldiers, it might work terrific destruction, even though the 
transports were convoyed by a strong naval force.” 

THE HISTORY AMERICANA, p. 1922. 


















EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 59 

High up in power of which I may not speak; 
A friend informs us both by tongue and pen 
That protests have been filed by able men: 
That ‘ k it would be extremely hazardous* 
And injudicious now ” to put you thus 
Upon that island in the sickly season; 

Stay with us while you may and let us reason. 
In seventeen hundred sixtv-two at this 
Unhealthful season of the year, amiss 
The English force attacked Havana then; 
And shortly, sickness seized one half the 
men. 

A fine French force was sent, in eighteen-one 
To Sant’ Domingo, by the great Napoleon. 
The yellow fever slew the most of them,t 
And thus France lost her large West Indian 
gem. 

Elmer. Your warning comes too late; the 
war is on; 

I should not hesitate; what can be done? 

Adam. We think there is a chance for your 
transfer 

To safer, better place, if you concur. 

*See Gen, Miles' Report, made public in Nov. 1898. 
tNapoleon said; “ Of our fine army, twenty thousand men 
were dead or dying in the hospitals. The new regiments lost 
half their number within twenty-four hours after landing. 
The Century Mag., for Feb. 1899, p. 614. 


■■ I ’g lU W 













60 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Elmer. Uncle, let me now help you pile 
these brush, 

And we will get this job done with a rush. 

How do you get along with your spring 
work? 

Adam. I keep ahead by working like a 
Turk; 

We finished planting corn, one day last 
week; 

If you want work, you have not far to seek; 

Altho’ I have not much to do this week, 

Except to talk and fish along the creek, — 

Here come the girls; the heap is now com¬ 
plete. 

Ida, Margaret and Eva enter. 

Eva. I like to see them burn; it's quite a 
treat. 

Ida. I brought a match. 

Margaret. We came to see the fire. 

Eva. May I start it? 

Ida. Yes, dear, if you desire. 

Margaret. What big and gnarled old 
trees we stand among? 

Elmer. Grandfather set these trees when 
he was young. 











EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


61 


Adam. Tho’ old, it is a splendid orchard 
still; 

This place is sheltered by the high North 
Hill. 

Here, girls, this log may serve us as a seat; 

It’s smooth and lies outside the smoke and 
heat. 

Ida. This grand old orchard is so much 
improved! 

By having its dead limbs and brush removed. 

Adam. Millions have worshipped fire; the 
great hearth god 

Was honored even in the land of Nod, 

Also in ancient Akkad and the East, 

But chiefly as a symbol at his feast. 

Eva. I like to see the flames flare up and 
jump! 

Ida. ‘'A penny for your thoughts;” you 
have the stump. 

All. Elmer, a speech! 

Elmer. My thoughts were all of war; 

Napoleon went like a brilliant meteor 

To Moscow; what a sacrifice was made; 

When that fire sank, he saw his glory fade. 














62 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Margaret. The South knows what is 
meant by fire and sword. 

Elmer. Truly, and Cuba knows by heart 
each word. 

Eva. Here comes aunt with a basket, I 
declare! 

Ann enters. 

Ann. I bring a lunch which you may soon 
prepare. 

The fire is now so hot, we too might burn; 

Adam will talk. 

All. Yes, Uncle, it’s your turn. 

Adam. You had enough of treasure hunt¬ 
ing then? 

Eva and Margaret. No, we have not. 

Ida. Elmer will try again; 

Maggie can tell us one as good as ten. 

Adam. Please tell yours first; I have one 
up a tree. 

Margaret. One sad September day in sixty-three 
Grandmother Lee was lying sick in bed; 

Father a lad was with grandfather Lee 
Following where some southern colonel led. 

Richard a little child played in the yard; 

A neighbor, riding swiftly by him, shouted: 

“The Yanks are coming now; be on your guard;” 
Their cavalry came soon, but merely scouted. 









EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


63 


Grandmother rose and shifted all her wealth, 

Gold, silver, jewels worth ten thousand dollars, 
Into a kettle, which her wench by stealth 
Hid in the garden deep and safe from callers. 

That night my father came with men in haste 
And gently moved her and the little boy 
To her own place more safe from war’s wild waste; 
There her old friends received her with great joy. 

Later when grandfather persuaded her 
To loan her treasure to her native state, 

They searched for it in vain; the gardener 

And the wench had gone; whither, none could 
relate. 

Grandfather died of wounds; the rest returned 
To their old home and found the negroes scattered; 
The yard and garden fences had been burned, 

The land laid waste, the buildings soiled and 
shattered. 

One bright November day in sixty-five, 

The gardener and his wife came to the door. 

“ Where is that kettle buried? sakes alive! 

We never had done thought of that no more.” 

They found intact the kettle-full of pelf; 

Before our mother married, she gave all 
Of father’s share to sister and myself; 

A Nashville bank keeps mine until I call. 

Eva. Papa keeps his share in a big black 
box; 

“To keep them safe/’ he says, “from 
some sly fox. ” 









64 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Ida. Last summer, Maggie showed her 
gems to me, 

When we were at the Fair in Tennessee. 

Adam. Now I will tell you one of long ago; 

A boy was born in old colonial Maine, 

A land of forest vast and winter snow; 

Large was the family and small the gain. 

The father died; the son remained with her 
When he grew up and fed his mother’s sheep; 

At length he learned to be a carpenter, 

And then he longed to sail upon the deep. 

He sailed and sought a famous Spanish wreck 
Near a Bahama isle, and found much treasure; 

He went to England, and soon trod the deck, 

As “ captain of a king’s good ship,” with pleasure. 

A richer Spanish wreck of which he heard, 

He sought in vain for years; his crew rebelled; 
The mutiny he quelled; when it occurred 
Again near port, he had the worst expelled. 

At Hayti, he was told that on a reef 

North of that island lay the wreck of old; 

He found the treasure ship, and—to be brief— 

They brought up tons of silver, gems and gold. 

Our hero and his friends were rich henceforth; 

The king made him first governor of the north. 

Elmer. Sir William Phipps, the king sent 
with new laws— 

I do remember now, his mother was 
The woman who once lived within a shoe 
And had so many children — 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


65 


Ida. That will do; 

I think your name is Mann. 

Elmer. If it were Phipps 
I would not have more than two dozen chips. 

Ann. Surely, you are a limb of Adam’s tree. 

Adam. At anytime come when you will to 
me. 

You and all yours, and help me do the 
chores. 

Elmer. Thank you; I hope we may not 
come by scores. 

Ann. Wet the paper— 

Eva. These potatoes I will roast. 

Ida. I’ll roast the egrgs. 

Margaret. And I the bread will toast. 

Ann. Elmer, now while the girls prepare 
the lunch, 

Let me tell you a tale, perhaps a bunch. 

Elmer. It’s not a cat o’ nine tails? 

Ann. Hear and heed, 

In certain books of chivalry we read 
Of many knights who sought the Holy Grail, 

Of whom a few succeed, the others fail. 






66 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


In Tennyson’s fine Idyl this is told 
In verse which has deep meaning for us all, 
Christian experience is manifold; 

In various ways each one receives a call. 

A love-lorn maiden once became ascetic 
And saw a vision of the holy cup, 

Or Holy Grail, (a name old and poetic,) 

Out of which Jesus last was seen to sup. 

The girls may now begin to fill and pass 
Those bright tin plates and fill our coffee cups, 
Yes, spread the table-cloth upon the grass; 

I’ll try to tell my tale between my sups. 

A thunder-storm arose, the lightning flashed 

Thro’ Arthur’s hall, the knights sprang up all 

pale; 

Shey stood and stared confounded and abashed; 
Then each one vowed to seek the Holy Grail. 

Elmer. I think no better feast was ever 
sung. 

Eva. This food is just delicious. 

Margaret. This is Eden bliss. 

Adam. This feast brings back the days 
when we were young: 

Ira and I once played such pranks as this. 

Ida. Elmer, away down South, they bake 
on sand. 

Eva. Oh, do they? 








EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


67 


Margaret. Not so far as I have learned. 

Elmer. The Holy Grail must stand for 
something grand? 

Ann. It means things spiritually discerned; 

It is a symbol of the great Unseen; 

The knights are various types of character; 

Sir Galahad ever wore white armor clean; 

He saw the vision bright as seen by her. 

Sir Percivale, the pure, saw it afar; 

And Bors saw it within his prison cell; 

And Lancelot, his own mind all at war 

Altho’ reared by Religion,* saw not well. 

Adam. The horse now frets; IT1 take him 
to the stable. Exit. 

Ann. Ida may clear the dishes and the 
table, — 

Our own great poet says, another knight 

Once sought and saw that holy vision bright. 

Elmer. Yes, Lowell wrote The Vision of 
Sir Launfal; 

I have the June in mind, the vision’s gone 
all. 

Ann. It has a meaning sweet and rich and 
deep; 

Please read it all to night before you sleep; 

I must go home. 

'The Lady of the Lake. 







68 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Eva. May I the basket take? 

Margaret. Let me help you. 

Elmer. We’ll go up to the lake? 

Exeunt Ann, Margaret and Eva. 

Does Emerson remain your poet-priest? 

Ida. He loved too well the pantheistic 
East; 

We gather on his grand star-lit plateau 

Rare gems of thought amid eternal snow. — 

Did father speak to you about the war? 

Elmer. Yes, Ida, that was what you 
waited for? 

Ida. Remember now the fate of those 
who went 

To Carthagena. * 

Elmer. That was gross mismanagement; 

You dread disease and hunger, and you pity 

The Cubans, for you gave to their committee. 

We have improved much in a hundred years; 

Our chiefs are able, and I have no fears. 

Ida. Your mother has; how she may 
grieve and fret. 

Elmer. My parents have my brother with 
them yet. 

"With Admiral Vernon in 1741; lew returned. 






EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


69 


Ida. Maggie’s mother can tell the dreadful 
state 

Of the South in “the yellow plague” of 
’seventy-eight; 

Regiments of “ immunes ” are being raised 

To aid the regulars; let them be praised. 

The Spaniards rest thro’out the rainy 
season; 

The Cubans are more active for that reason. 

Elmer. Next winter Spain would be pre¬ 
pared for us, 

And half of Europe mixed up in the muss; 

The tide is high, now is the time to sail. 

Ida. Men high in rank do fear that you 
may fail. 

Elmer. Why, uncle talked that way awhile 
ago; 

What ground you have for this, I do not 
know. 

Ida. In Washington we have a friend who 
stands 

High with the chiefs, sometimes at their 
right hands; 

We saw him in Columbus, once last week. 

And heard from him some facts we may 
not speak. 












70 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer. Was he not here about a week ago? 
Ah, yes, I see you cannot now say no; 

May you both shine in Washington next 
year. 

Ida. No, I prefer to shine in Eden here; 
But he will help you if he has a chance, 

And that was why he told us in advance; 
Stay with us here, and we may tell you 
more. 

Elmer. I hear a call, I see an open door. 

Ida. I guess the girls are going to the lake; 
Will you not capture Maggie for my sake, 
And leave her here if you must go to war? 
Many brave southern suitors wait; your star 
Is shining now which soon may set forever: 
I fear that lovely Maggie Lee may never 
Visit this northern home again. 

Elmer. No words can tell 
My love for her; I dread to break the spell 
Of her sweet presence, for she gives me no 
Encouragement. 

Ida. She loves you well. 

Elmer. It may be so; 

I’ll try to speak to her before I go. 

I understand why Antony forgot 











EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


71 


His honor and his duty and could not 

Forsake his charming “serpent of old Nile.” 

Ida. Fear not, for Maggie is free from the 
guile 

Of Cleopatra; trust her sweetest smile. 

Elmer. She is so fascinating she could 
make 

Me undertake strange things for her sweet 
sake. 

Ida. Fear not the fate of Antony who fled 

From duty and found death near Egypt’s 
bed, 

For Maggie is the soul of honor true 

And would not for the world dishonor you. 

Do not propose to-day, I do not ask it; 

Let us go meet the girls, they have the 
basket. Exeunt. 

NOON.—At the Lake. 

Elmer, Ida, Margaret and Eva. 

Ida. Captain, this morning in your bound¬ 
ing joy 

You seem more like a happy country boy. 

Elmer. I have a card our Colonel wrote 
to tell, 

My men are being drilled and all are well. 











72 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Eva. Behold at last the head of th’ silver 
snake. 

Margaret. Oh, what a lovely little gem¬ 
like lake! 

And such a pretty place for our gay picnic. 

Where can I safely leave my box of cake? 

Eva must stay and watch it with her thick 
stick. 

Elmes. Let’s leave them here beside this 
sugar tree; 

If anything comes near them we will see. 

Ida. This grassy bank will be our table neat; 

I guess we won’t go far before we eat. 

Eva. Oh, how I love the fragrant woods 
and flowers; 

A bright bouquet for aunt I am to make 

Of fresh and sweet wild flowers from fairy 
bowers. 

Margaret. Two branches meeting here 
have formed this lake. 

Ida. Yes, one comes from the north thro’ 
level land, 

The other from north-west thro’ rocks and 
sand. 












EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


73 


Elmer. I used to come here often to fish 
and swim, 

And play with sticks and stones around the 
rim; 

I never saw before-—it made me start, 

The shape of this lake is so like a heart. 

Margaret. How clear the water is; look 
at the fish! 

Swimming for joy in their deep, crystal dish. 

Eva. Look at the trees down there all up¬ 
side down; 

We might live in that fairy world—or 
drown. 

Elmer. If we had not forgot our hooks 
and lines 

I’d catch that whale that sparkles so and 
shines. 

Ida. These are my pets; I hate to see them 
caught; 

They wait and watch to see what feed I’ve 
brought. 

To-morrow if you wish, go to the creek; 

Those fish are more like whales, so big and 
sleek. 

Eva. There comes a squirrel now to get a 
drink, 

He is so graceful and so grand. I think. 






74 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer. If I had brought a gun,— but I 
forget; 

Pardon; a fine fox-squirrel, Ida’s pet. 

Ida. I often sit here on this bank, quite 
still; 

The birds and squirrels come and drink 
their fill. 

Margaret. Let someone tell a story while 
we watch; 

Eva, can you help us along a notch? 

Eva. Last night I had the most delightful dream: 

I walked along a forest path alone, 

And crossed a meadow green and then a stream 
Of sparkling water, stepped from stone to stone. 

I met the sweetest girl; she spoke to me 
Kindly, and led me thro’ a garden bright 
With flowers of many colors, rich to see; 

The fragrant air was full of rosy light. 

Then just before us stood a stately palace 
Amid tall trees; and all among the trees 
Were walks; she led me to my cousin Alice 
Who sat beside a fountain at her ease. 

Here were dear friends whom I had come to meet; 

They set before me strawberries and cream, 

And bread and honey and good things to eat; 

Then I awoke, — “ behold, it was a dream.” 

Ida. I would call that a Little Pilgrim’s 
Progress, 

In which the pilgrim does not once digress. 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


75 


Elmer. It trains a pupil much to let him 
tell 

Some tale in his own words; she does that 
well. 

Margaret. Ida, tell us about some poet, 
please, 

While we rest here beneath these shady 
trees. 

Ida. I’ll tell you of a poet dear to me, 

Who lived and loved and sang beyond the 
sea; 

He woke to life and joy beside a stream, 
Bright river of his youthful love and dream; 
There, and eastward in Eden’s lovely vale 
He dwelt, until in some more southern dale 
He entered school. 

A charming little lake 
Was near, and oft his teachers let him take 
Delightful walks along the lake or roam 
Among the hills, and sometimes visit home. 

He loved to wander in the fields and woods 
And study nature in poetic moods; 

He tells us much about their life and games 
In his long poem — 

Elmer. Do not mention names. 








76 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


[Ida tells of him in College, London and 

France.] 

Ida. When months of deep and dark 
despair had passed 

He sought his northern home and friends 
at last; 

His love for nature soon revived and burned 

And hope for man more rational returned. 

And there he lived thro’ long and happy 
years 

And wrote much that still calms and charms 
and cheers. 

Elmer. Of that fine group of poets in the 
north* 

Of England, the greatest was William 
Wordsworth. 

Ida. Of his Prelude I merely hint the 
good, — 

Eva, tell us about the river wood. 

Eva. We had a fine picnic a week ago 
When papa let me have our horse and carriage; 

I took five girls, my classmates, all down to 
The River, while my folks went to a marriage. 

We walked along the water gathering 
The pretty little shells upon the sand; 

You should have heard us softly shout and sing; 

We played along the bank a merry band. 

*The Lake Poets. 








EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


77 


We found a tree bent over, so we jumped 
And swung on that and on a grape-vine long; 

We teetered, swung upon the vine and romped 
Until quite tired; and then we sang a song. 

While we were eating lunch, I saw a pair 

Of bright blue eyes that watched us thro’ a bush; 

I whispered to a girl; we ran ’round there 
And caught a little boy and girl in th’ brush. 

They came and ate with us, told us their names 
And where they lived; then asked if we had seen 

The Indians in the gravel-pit; our games 
We left; the bones were shown us by the men. 

The children asked their father for the boat; 

We went back to the river and embarked; 

We would row up the stream, and then just float 
Down with the current while we sang or harked. 

We crossed the river and went up to view 

The thick green woods; we found a fallen tree 

So large and hollow that our merry crew 
All got inside to sail across the sea. 

Just then w T e saw a pair of eyes like coals 
Of fire that moved beyond us in the dark; 

We left in haste; some vowed of all dark holes 
They would keep clear when out upon a lark. 

We found a great horned-owl beyond the log 
And threw sticks nearly up to where he sat; 

We saw some thing up in a tree; “A dog,” 

One said; then others said, “A big wild cat.” 

Another cried, “A panther! it would rather 

Jump down on us and bite;” we ceased to roam, 

Ran to the boat, and only stopped to gather 
A few wild flowers before we started home. 








78 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Elmer. That was a ’coon which someone 
called “ a dog;” 

Perhaps its mate was hidden in the log; 

Ida, explain this allegory, come. 

Ida. River of life, the wilderness, and 
home. 

Margaret. Captain, please favor us with 
your report, 

A narrative, or song of any sort. 

Elmer. Ell sing a song that Ida sent to me, 
September last, on Perry’s Victory: 

At break of day 
On Put-in Bay, 

September tenth, the year thirteen, 

Young Perry’s brand-new squadron lay; 

Six British ships north-west were seen. 

Resolved to fight 
With all their might, 

Our men at once sailed out that way; 

The wind was light, the foe turned right 
And formed in beautiful array. 

A mile away 

The great guns play, 

The shot fall round our foremost ship 
Which eagerly goes to the fray; 

Our larger ships the less outstrip. 

Our warships nine 
Close up the line 

And fiercely fight the foreign foe, 

Whose guns combine with one design 
On Perry’s ship; oh, scene of woe! 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


79 


Most desperate 
Was Perry’s state; 

The Lawrence lay a helpless wreck; 

He took a boat, strange to relate, 

And gained another warship’s deck. 

The guns are hushed; 

“The foe is crushed,” 

The British shout; is victory won? 

As Perry wished our ships are pushed 
Close in to fight till all is done. 

The cannon’s roar 
Is heard once more; 

They dreadful broadsides give and take; 

While thousands witnessed from the shore 
This famous battle on the Lake. 

Such fighting sure 
Could not endure; 

The British did fight well that day; 

But Perry got them all secure 
And brought them back to Put-in Bay. 

Ida. Splendid! Heroic Perry’s end was 
sad: 

While cruising on the Caribbean tide, 

He took the yellow fever there and died 
In August at the isle of Trinidad. 

Elmer. Before we do commence to feed 
the mouth, 

Miss Lee, please tell a tale of th’ sunny 
South. 








80 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Margaret. Before my father died, we used to go 
Much further south to see his sister’s folks; 

They lived beside a lake where we could row, 

And ride and play among the pines and oaks. 

Always when we went out to play, or ride 
Thro’ the great forest and plantations wide, 

A colored servant went along as guide; 

My handsome cousin’s place was by my side. 

Sometimes we rode along a narrow path, 

Indian file, between the vine-clad trees; 

Some draped with long gray moss, fresh from 
their bath 

Of heavy dew dried by the cool lake-breeze. 

For me the golden light shone thro’ the trees, 

Rich odors of wild flowers perfumed the breeze, 

And life seemed beauty, brightness and deep joy; 

To ride, or row and fish, best pleased the boy. 

Eva. Ida composed another song last week 
About the battle of Manila Bay. 

Elmer. Let us now hear your lay; please 
sing or speak. 

Ida. Not now; I’ll sing for you some other 
day. 

Margaret. I saw the place where Ida has 
been teaching; 

We passed it on our way to hear the 
preaching. 

Ida. I shall teach there again the next 
school year. 









EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


81 


Elmer. They offered me the city school 
again, 

And I refused before I came out here; 

It was my duty plain to lead the men. 

Ida. I’m sorry you declined and changed 
your plan: 

You might become renowned like Horace 
Mann. 

You liked the Herbart method of relations? 

It gives a zest to children’s recitations. 

Elmer. I used the Special Methods of 
McMurry, 

We will discuss them when we need not 
hurry; 

I do not see why you should teach at all, 

Unless it is because you have a call? 

# 

Ida. I teach this school because I like to 
teach 

And gain experience within my reach; 

The children are so good I love them all 

And build for each a future fair and tall. 

I hope to find another plant for my 

Herbarium, to-day, at least I’ll try; 

We want to climb the cataract, and see trees 

Gigantic, lodged in thickets, and those bee- 
trees. 












82 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer. Let’s go up to the cataract and 
height 

Before we lunch, and get an appetite. 

All. Yes, yes; all right. 

Margaret. We go with great delight. 

Exeunt. 

P. M. — Under the Elms. 

Elmer and Margaret seated. 

Elmer. This seat was Adam’s when a boy, 
I’m told. 

Margaret. Surely these elms are many 
ages old. 

Elmer. Yes, they adorn this crescent 
formed between 

The roads, the old and new; marks may be 
seen 

Where the old road ran round this deep 
ravine. 

Margaret. The old road crossed above 
the water-fall 

Like a rainbow around the elms and all. 

Elmer. The water’s music mingles with 
my dreams 

As I think of a thousand pleasant themes. 








EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


83 


Margaret. That waterfall reminds me of 
a scene 

I have not seen. 

Elmer. Niagara you mean? 

Well, I declare! now that is Ida’s plan 
And Adam’s work; I hardly think one man 
Could move that wedge-shaped boulder from 
it’s bed; 

I guess, on either bank a team was led 
To drag it down the stream to just that spot 
Where it would represent Goat Isle a plot 
Of seventy acres; that plank is the bridge; 
And yonder are the Horseshoe Fall and 
ledge. 

Margaret. Can you describe the Falls; 
how high and wide? 

Elmer. Suppose that we are near the 
western side, 

Aboard the steamer; that North Hill is 
twice 

Its present height, and that its top is thrice 
As wide to represent Goat Island on 
The height, from which toward our left 
upon 

That line one-eighth mile long is hung a 
sheet 









84 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Of water flecked with foam in haste to meet 
The boiling flood below with deafening roar. 
Look up once more and let imagination soar: 
Toward our right there is a grander sight, 
A sheet of water falling from the height 
Of horseshoe-shape and o’er one-third mile 
wide, 

Amid mist rising from the boiling tide. 

Margaret. Ida showed me a booklet of 
those views. 

Elmer. I may receive a letter full of news 
From camp to-day. 

Margaret. Have you seen our fair South? 

Elmer. I was in Dixie once; a college 
youth, 

I went to Cincinnati on a lark; 

I saw the city and the Eden Park; 

The Emery Arcade; the craft afloat; 

The water-works; the new steam ferry-boat; 
On it I crossed the river to Kentucky; 

Saw men bet on the races; some were 
lucky; 

I dined in Covington, and then came back 
By footway bridge beside the railway track. 

Margaret. That was the Cincinnati South¬ 
ern Bridge; 

Look yonder at those sheep upon the ridge. 










EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


85 


Elmer. I wish that they were Rocky 
Mountain sheep; 

Ed like to bring a big-horn down the steep. 

Margaret. There is good shooting in the 
Southern States. 

Elmer. Please tell me of the route I and 
my mates 

May travel to the Chickamauga Park, 
Unless sent to the seacoast to embark. 

Margaret. I think that you will cross 
that bridge again, 

If you start for the war aboard a train 
Over the famous Queen and Crescent Route; 
Then thro’ the Blue Grass region you will 
shoot. 

[Margaret describes the scenes along the 

route. ] 

The girls are very quiet at the house; 

I think they plot against us loitering thus, 
Or else some mischief; shall we go and see? 

Elmer. Perhaps there is a letter there 
for me. 

Margaret. How dark it is! 

Elmer. Look yonder, it is raining hard. 










86 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Margaret. We’ll walk the planks? 

Elmer. And go across the yard. 

Exeunt. 

EVE. —On the Housetop. 

Ida and Margaret, 

(seated in the open observatory.) 

Ida. This is a most delightful evening! 

Margaret. It is so cool and pleasant since 
the rain; 

The setting sun illumines everything 

With glorious hues; those clouds—an angel 
train, 

Ida. I like to join the earth and sunny 
cloudland 

And see long furrows in celestial plowed- 
land, 

Or cities resting in their Sabbath beauty, 

Whose people all delight to do their duty; 

Calm-eyed and noble are all those I see, 

Gracious and free and all that we might be. 

Margaret. Remember Icarus, fly not too 
high 

Lest you should tumble from the sunny sky. 

Ida. These visions and consoling views I 
deem 











EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


87 


As sacred hopes that mean more than they 
seem. 

They cost me little, there is much to gain; 

I always own at least one castle in Spain. 

Margaret. And that is why you talk 
against the war? 

Ida. I’m not against this war, tho’ I abhor 
Its violence and bloodshed; my chief reason 
For thus objecting is the rainy season. 

Margaret. We are upon a castle tall and 
fair; 

Why should you build another over there? 

Ida. Then you have never read Some 
Castles in Spain?* 

Well, we will take the book with us to bed; 
We might have read it while kept in by rain; 
You will be richer far when you have read. 

Margaret. Did Johnson here observe the 
moon and stars? 

Ida. Yes ma’am, but only as a recreation 
And exercise, free from corroding cares, 

To stretch and strengthen his imagination. 
During fair weather he was often seen 
Reading or painting here beside a screen. 

*By G. W. Curtis. 











mtmmHme 


mmmm 


88 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Margaret. Tis fine to view from this 
observatory 

The landscape and the evening glory; 

I see the city and the distant farms 

Lying in shadows—how this scenery charms! 

Ida. The human mind has marvelous 
resources 

To trace the planets and the comets’ courses; 

Often my petty cares I can disperse 

By thinking of the boundless universe. 

Margaret. I would prefer some pleasant 
work or thought 

Easily found in need if it is sought; 

Adam and Elmer yonder now come near. 

Ida. I’ll signal them that they may come 
up here; 

That plum-tree they examine is a damson. 

Margaret. Elmer reminds me of the hero 
Samson; 

His strength lies in his mind and well-built 
frame. 

Ida. Maggie, you please him well, but do 
not name 

Him thus, for Samson was unfortunate; 

I think that he should choose you for his 
mate. 









HUOH 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 89 

Margaret. He is a gentleman, a scholar 
and 

A soldier born to exercise command; 

If we lived in an age of chivalry, 

My knight should fight for Cuban liberty. 

Ida. The Christian Graces nine in number 
are: 

Love, Joy, Peace; Patience, Kindness, Good¬ 
ness dance 

With Faith and Meekness and fair Temper¬ 
ance; 

These daughters nine attend the Spirit’s car. 

Margaret. While waiting for the lights 
of earth and heaven, 

Will you repeat sweet Helen’s songs of 
seven ? 

Ida. Reveal this faith on fit occasion 
When you have found your new friend true, 

With reverence and sweet persuasion 
Respond in words select and few; 

Let all our crew thus wisely do 
That we may win bright stars for Heaven 
More sweet than all “ the sisters seven.’' 

Ye dwellers in the seven valleys 
Despise not us upon the plain; 

Altho’ we dwell in worldly alleys, 

We are prepared to entertain 
The angels of the Alpine chain; 

The oracles of God are there 
Preserved for us with greatest care. 










90 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer and Eva enter from below. 

Elmer. Uncle has sent his hand with 
compliments; 

He says, that heaven has fair residents, 

That he has seen them looking down at Eve. 

Ida. Thank you, be seated. 

Eva. Ida, it would not grieve 

Me if you had an elevator here; 

Em glad we are fenced in, or I should fear. 

Margaret. Now, Captain Mann, please 
tell us of the stars. 

Elmer. Yes, presently; for sable night 
now bars 

Her doors and windows, lighting all her 
lamps, — 

We heard those verses bearing Buckeye 
stamps. 

Eva. The silver moon is sailing west so far. 

Elmer. The planet Jupiter is overhead. 

Margaret. Oh, there is Venus, brightest 
evening star. 

Ida. The heavens do declare a glorious God. 

Eva. Look at that cloud, a lion eats the 
moon! 











EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


91 


Ida. Elmer, the stars, you were to tell us 
soon. 

Margaret. Where is the Lion of the 
Zodiac? 

Elmer. Eva’s bright cloud is near the 
lion’s back; 

The Sickle shows us his majestic breast, 

His shoulders and his head as he looks west. 

He looks west at the brothers, said the 
Greeks; 

But others, Orientals, said he seeks 

Adam and Eve who sit upon the shore 

Of that celestial river and look o’er. 

They look at Taurus fierce who makes a 
charge 

Against the hunter bold Orion large, 

Who calmly stands and waits with club and 
dogs. 

Eva. I hear the music of the river frogs. 

Elmer. The river, or the Milky-way, now 
flows 

Around the whole horizon; I suppose 

In March at dusk you saw it o’er this place; 

It was a brilliant course that you would trace. 

Arcturus red is nearly overhead; 










92 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


You wished to hear some myths that I had 
read: 

Southward reclines the Virgin, Justice fair 
Who lived on earth with that first human 
pair 

During the golden age; and at her side 
Is Spica, or the sheaf of wheat, her pride. 
She looks east at the Scales, and Scorpio 
So bright escaping from the bended bow; 
While just beyond the river now so dim 
The Archer draws his bow to shoot at him. 
Vega, or Lyra, is north-east of us; 

It represents the harp of Orpheus, 

With which he charmed wild-beasts and 
rocks and trees 

And brought his wife almost back from 
Hades, 

(Virgil relates this in his fine fourth book, 
The Georgies), but, alas, he turned to look 
And failed. He now floats as a swan and sees 
His harp protected by strong Hercules. 
Many millenniums ago this star* 

Was near the northern pole which now is far 
Away, but will return to it again 
According to “precession,” say wise men. 

Ida. Where is my flying horse? 

Elmer. Far east of us 

* Vega. 














EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


93 


Low down, I see “the square of Pegasus;” 
In meadows there the flying horses graze, 
Beyond the shining river their stars blaze. 

Eva. Oh, there is my Milk Dipper coming 
up 

Away south-east. 

Elmer. The Archer takes a sup. 

Margaret. And thus he lets the scorpion 
escape; 

The Archer sometimes has a centaur’s shape; 
I love the glory of the Southern sky. 

Elmer. This week I hope to see that glory 
nigh; 

If I should live, I will see it full soon, 

Most certainly before the first of June. 

Ida. Alas, how many of our boys must die 
Before we see the Fourth of next July! 

Eva. I do not see the Goat and little Kids? 

Elmer. They are near that bright star, 
north-west, which rides 
Upon that cloud just now. 

Ida. Capella of your search 
Brightest of five was overhead in March; 
Infinitely it shines beyond that cloud. 













94 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer. A most prodigious distance is 
allowed 

To all the stars; now if the telescope 
Is in the case beneath the seat, I hope 
To mount it on this pivot. 

Ida. Oh, I quite 

Forgot to bring it up with us to night; 

I had it cleaned and ready waiting till 
We should make our excursion up North 
Hill; 

If all are willing we will now go down 
And take the telescope out on the lawn. 

Exeunt. 

TUESDAY. 

MORNING. —The Balcony. 

Elmer, Ida and Margaret seated. 

Margaret. How fresh and beautiful are 
all the trees! 

Ida. Yes, and that is a most delightful 
breeze. 

Elmer. We have a splendid landscape 
view from here, 

Both near and far; the air is very clear. 

Ida. The studio was always on this floor. 
And Leo often sat beside this door. 










EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


95 


Elmer. I think this scene is one of Nature’s 
best; 

The Queen of artists, she leads all the rest. 

Ida. Some other scenes are touching or 
sublime. 

But quiet beauty, such as this, be mine. 

The artist can idealize and give 
His work a beauty and suggestiveness 
Which Nature only shows in fugitive 
Phenomena, in rare tints of her dress. 

Elmer. Milton has said, “The mind is its 
own place, 

And in itself can make a Heaven,” thro’ 
grace, 

I’ll add, of any place. 

Ida. That we to some extent 
Can thus idealize is evident; 

Oft as I ride along the road to town 
I fancy that the kingdom has come down 
More fresh and beautiful than morning land 
And all its people happy, good and grand. 

Margaret. I’ve heard you talk when you 
were riding in 
Your chariot. 

Ida. To you the air seems thin. 










96 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Margaret. Do you remember that bright 
Southern scene 

We saw, a year ago? 

Ida. Which do you mean? 

Margaret. Where you spoke of ‘ ‘ the 
chariot of bliss. ” 

Ida. That scene was on a grander scale 
than this. 

Elmer. I hope to see your lovely South¬ 
land soon; 

I may see Dixie by to-morrow noon. 

Ida. Do not be anxious, your lieutenant 
can 

Command the men; he is an able man. 

Elmer. Yes, but the Colonel does not like 
him and 

Will scarcely tolerate him in command, — 

Eva is looking all around for you. 

Ida. Oh, Eva dear, you may come up here 
too. 

Elmer. I noticed in your library a fine 

Collection of rare books, I counted nine 

On explorations made in Bible lands, 

Beside some Adam only understands 













EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 97 

Chiefly composed in old cuneiform; 

The French and German books form quite 
a swarm. 

Ida. Father and I read them together 
much; 

Cuneiform inscriptions I just touch 

And leave to father; did you hear from me 

Our expedition to the University 

Of Pennsylvania, last fall? 

Elmer. No, tell us now. 

Ida. Father had long desired to see just 
how 

The ancient tablets looked which were kept 
there 

In the museum; then, round trip, half-fare 

Induced us all to go. Mother enjoyed 

The Quaker City and was not decoyed- 

Eva and Ann enter. 

Eva. Say, did you girls try hard to hide 
from us? 

Margaret. No, Ida showed us paintings 
and the house. 

Ann. How do you like the view from here 
Miss Lee? 

i 









98 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Margaret, This view is grand; it greatly 
pleases me. 

Elmer. Aunt Ann, be seated and hear 
Maggie’s story 

Of heroes who would fight for glove or 
glory. 

Eva. The Captain has been reading Tenny¬ 
son; 

His mark is at the Idyls; tell us one. 

Elmer. The book was lying here upon this 
chair; 

By chance I opened it, not seeing where. 

Ann. Yes, Elmer, tell us one; or you Miss 
Lee? 

Elmer. Let her; I cannot, even to please 
thee; 

But I do love to hear brief stories told; 

They are like silver threads that lead to 
gold. 

Ida. Holding in mind these stories as a 
clew, 

We can at leisure read and wander thro’ 

The rich and charming labyrinth like play 

Enjoying all the beauty by the way. 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


99 


Margaret. Old Merlin, the type of worldly wisdom 
fled 

From Arthur’s court in melancholy mood 
And by his sad and gloomy spirit led, 

Sought peace and good in deepest Breton wood. 

Vivien, the type of worldly sensual pleasure, 
Followed him silent and alone thro’ all 
And sought to rouse and charm him at her leisure; 
But gloom had settled on him like a pall. 

She flattered him and sang to him until 

His mood grew mild, then asked of him a charm 
By which to cause hypnotic sleep so still 

And death-like; Merlin feared that she meant harm. 

He told the legend of the charm to her, 

But not the charm itself; then they discussed 
The gossip of the court; the slanderer 

Aroused the old man’s wrath and deep distrust. 

A thunder-storm drove them into an oak, 

A huge and hollow tree; he told the charm 
And slept; she used it, and he never woke; 

His wisdom did not save him from all harm. 

Ann. These Idyls are not only full of 
beauty, 

But rich in moral worth and words of duty. 

Ida. Sometimes temptations come in siren 
forms 

And are more dangerous than thunder¬ 
storms. 






100 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Ann. Which poets are the best? if you 
should ask, 

I’d recommend such books as Cowper's 
Task; 

George Herbert’s Temple old and some¬ 
what quaint 

Would be good reading even for a saint. 
Excuse me, I should now be looking 
To the kitchen and the cooking. 

Exit. 

Ida. Excuse me too, I’ll go help mama 
bake. 

All. It is your turn to tell us one. 

Ida. I’ll try to make 
A long, delightful story short and sweet, 

As it is nearly time for us to eat: 

Our heroine was born in Florence fair, 

And reared among the mountains north of 
there 

Until she was thirteen; then she was sent 
To live with her austere, paternal aunt. 

The orphan left the fair Italian shore, 

For England was her father’s home of yore. 
She pined forlorn until in garret nooks 
She found great boxes of her father’s books. 

[Ida completes the synopsis.] 












EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 101 

Margaret. At school I heard you read 
Aurora Leigh, 

Written by that sweet woman, E. B. B. 

Elmer. You read that poem of ten thou¬ 
sand lines? 

Ida. Yes, several times; the sad and glad 
like vines 

There intertwine, and luscious ripe fruit 
shines. 

Excuse me now; have I not done my share? 

All. Yes, certainly. 

Elmer. You always did play fair. 

Ida. Thank you- let all come when you 
hear me call. Exit. 

Eva. Look at the cattle grazing in the 
bottom; 

Talk of the joys of life; have they not got 
’em? 

Margaret. Those animals indeed have all 
they need; 

They care for little else but drink and feed. 

Elmer. She has a grand herbarium, I know. 

Eva. You saw her plants? they do make 
quite a show. 











102 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer and Margaret. They do, indeed. 

Eva. Let’s all go to the great 

Rock in the meadow, known as “Adam’s 
seat ’ ’ 

Beside the willow. 

Margaret. After breakfast, of course? 

Elmer. And after I help Adam break that 
horse. 

Eva. Oh yes, I will help Ida wash the 
crocks. 

Elmer. Uncle told me where I should find 
his rocks 

And fossils. 

Eva. Yes, I know, come now with me. 

Margaret. He has a fine collection, you 
will see. Exeunt. 

A. M. — The Rock in the Meadow. 

Elmer, Ida, Margaret and Eva. 

Ida. There’s room for all on top of this 
great rock, 

We can sit on the boughs and on this block. 

Elmer. This mass of rock was brought 
here by the ice 

In glacial times, before the paradise; 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


103 


When Adam was a boy, he stuck his whip 

Into the ground; this tree grew from that 
slip. 

Margaret. This is a pleasant place in 
summer-heat. 

Ida. I carry water to the men at work 

In harvest-time, and lunch for them to eat, 

Then rest upon this rock, or in that fork. 

Margaret. Eva, what are you doing up 
that tree? 

Eva. Here is a robin’s nest with two blue 
eggs. 

Margaret. You know your mama told you 
to mind me; 

You might fall down from there and break 
your limbs. 

Ida. I often climb up there on limbs as 
pegs. 

Margaret. They say the fairies are all full 
of whims. 

Elmer. Ida, can you recall how we once 
played 

Around here, and our willow baskets made? 

Ida. When we told fibs, and caught the 
katydids; 

Eva, comedown and tell about the city kids. 








104 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Eva. It’s Maggie’s turn. 

All. Please, Maggie, talk or sing. 

Margaret. A certain king had one be¬ 
loved son 

Whom he betrothed in early youth to one 

As young, the daughter of a southern king; 

To her this contract seemed a foolish thing. 

Margaret tells briefly The Princess. 

Elmer. A splendid story; I am glad he 
won. 

Ida. She was fair Ida, sung by Tennyson. 

Elmer. ’Twas long ago, when I was Cap¬ 
tain Rice, 

We went to war and fought the meadow 
mice. 

Margaret. Eva, tell us The Earthly 
Paradise 

By William Morris. 

Ida. His fair fables never bore us. 

Elmer. Eva, tell it and we will act as 
chorus; 

Tell us about that “earthly paradise." 














EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 105 

Eva. Mama and I read it together twice: 
Over a hundred years before Columbus 
Sailed west, for which he should now wear 
a nimbus, 

A Norway hero, born among the Greeks 
And living there until their tongue he 
speaks, 

Began to dream of Paradise, and sought 
Old legends, and was filled with this one 
thought. 

A Breton said, ‘ ‘ Beyond the western sea 
Are gardens ever green, where man is free 
From age, disease and death; an English 
knight 

Has seen the place, and heard songs of 
delight. ” 

[She tells of their adventures.] 

Elmer. I think that tale would charm 
both guest and groom, 

Sweet as a field of clover when in bloom. 
The other day while waiting for an order 
I read some verses by Colonel George 
Warder. 

May I repeat the lines on Dreamland Isles, 
(Ladies, I will be brief to win your smiles): 
“I have reached the shores of a beautiful 
land, 

Where the Hesperian Isles in the sunset sea 










I_ 

106 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Drop their apples of gold by the silver 
strand. 

And diamonds gleam in the yellow sand; — 

While murmuring waves, in their bounding 
glee, 

Are singing their siren songs to me.” 

Ida. That is just splendid; please repeat 
the rest. 

Elmer. I think it was about the Queen of 
Love. 

Eva. Ed like to see the two white eggs 
and nest, 

Where Ida saw the pretty turtle dove. 

Margaret. May we not see it now, the 
island soon? 

Ida. Come see it now, the isle this after¬ 
noon. Exeunt. 

NOON. —At the Spring. 

Ida and Margaret seated. 

Ida. Say, Maggie, did you ever drink, or 
taste, 

Of water half so sweet that ran to waste? 

Margaret. Eva and I drank of this several 
times; 

Here is a splendid subject for your rhymes. 








EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


107 


Ida. This was a famous spring in early 
davs; 

Grandfather Mann then often spoke its 
praise. 

Dear Leo Johnson made this marble bowl 

And carved his name upon that graceful 
scroll; 

My father built this summer house, a ring 

Of lattice-work and seats around the spring; 

The rill flows thro’ the garden, running off 

Among the vines and beds into the brook; 

We use the cistern water when we cook. 

Margaret. At school you told me of this 
spring, I think, 

And often wished from this sweet bowl to 
drink? 

Ida. The water there with me did not 
agree, 

And I thought of this nectar flowing free. 

Margaret. This spring and summer-house 
are very charming. 

Adam and Elmer enter. 

Adam. Pm glad to hear you ladies talk of 
farming.' 

Ida. You do mistake; we talked of this 
sweet water, 

Medicinal, health-giving to your daughter. 









108 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Adam. Let us all drink of father Adam’s 
ale, 

This grand supply was never known to fail. 

Elmer. Success attend our arms where’er 
they go, 

Confusion worse confound the foreign foe. 

All. Amen. 

Elmer, I quaff this cup of liquid joy 

As I once did when just a little boy, 

I carried water, all that I could lug 

To thirsty harvest hands, in their brown jug. 

Ida. We do recall with pleasure now our 
plays 

In those far off delightful summer days. 

Elmer. When Ida came and cheered me 
with her song 

We were as happy as the day was long. 

Margaret. If you go forth to do some 
noble deed, 

Ida will sing and cheer you at your need. 

Adam. The Cuban jug is heavy; what 
think you, 

May he not need the aid at least of two? 

Margaret. There were three queens, in 
Tennyson we read, 

Who came to help King Arthur at his need. 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


109 


Ida. I fear this Cuban jug will be too heavy 
For you and yours, tho’ we should form a 
bevy. 

Elmer. Ida, please write a song about this 
spring 

And Cuba; send it south for me to sing. 

Adam. One pleasant summer day in ’seventy-nine. 
Father and I walked up Sandusky Street 
In Delaware; we thought the town looked fine; 

We heard the sound of martial music sweet. 

Then a procession came along escorting 
President Hayes amid the shouting throng 
To see the Judge; we heard him there exhorting 
The eager crowd, and listened to him long. 

He was the greatest man that I had seen; 

He spoke of his birthplace on William Street; 

The sulphur spring upon the College green 

Where Lucy Webb and he chanced first to meet. 

Lucy came out and bowed, the crowd went wild 
And strove to shake his hand; we walked around 
And saw the old brick house, spoke of the child; 
Drank at the spring upon the College ground. 

Ann and Eva enter. 

Ann. Eva and I came in to get a drink. 
Eva. Here are the girls! [They drink. 
Adam. Welcome, come join our class. 

Ann. Proceed. 







110 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Adam. Now, Elmer, follow suit or pass? 

Elmer. One pleasant summer morn in ’ninety-three 
Father and I first saw the great White Cityt 
In splendor more bewildering to me 
Than gorgeous dream, or Oriental ditty.* 

We saw it from the whale-back steamer’s deck; 

We walked thro’ its gigantic Colonnade 
Into the Court of Honor, near a neck 
Of water; far away a fountain played. 

Mid halls one hundred feet, or yards, in height. 

Thro’ Agricultural Hall we wished to pass; 

We saw the shows of nations, what a sight! 

Ten thousand things were formed of grain and 
grass. 

Elmer describes the great Halls and exhibits. 

We lingered long amid this splendid scene 
Of flowers and fragrant fruit; we crossed at night 
The bridge which led to Wooded Island green 
To see the Japs, their “fairy lamps” alight. 

On the third day, at my request we went 
To see the Street of Nations and ascendi 
The Ferris Wheel; a pleasant day we spent— 

Here I must stop, lest there should be no end. 

Adam. During the latter portion of the Fair, 
The great religions of the world met there ; 2 
In Parliament convened broad-minded men. 
And words of wisdom flowed from tongue 
and pen. 

T The Columbian Exposition. 

*E. g, Canticles. 

1 Tbe Midway Plaisance, west of Jackson Park. 

2ln the Art Institute, Chicago. 











EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


111 


Ann. I like to see good people meet 
together 

And “speak the truth in love,” —of any 
feather. 

Ida. Maggie and I, last year, heard Presi¬ 
dent 

McKinley speak at Nashville, when we went 
To the Centennial Exposition, mark,* 

Held in that city’s lovely West Side Park. 

Elmer. Tell us of him in that fair Southern 
land. 

Ida. That fine June morning, t Governor Taylor and 
Governor Bushnell of Ohio went, 

Each with his staff, to see the President 

Soon all came to the Exposition ground 
Escorted by an ex-Confederate guard; 

A multitude of people surged around 
And filled the Auditorium and the yard. 

President Thomas spoke kind words of welcome. 
Breathing true Southern hospitality, 

Breathing best wishes for the nation’s welfare; 
Governor Taylor dwelt on nationality. 

Senator Clarke and Governor Bushnell spoke 
Suitable words; McKinley spoke at length 
Of early times, heroic pioneers, 

Of war and civil strife, divided strength, 

Of union strong and grand, of hope that cheers. 

*The Tenn. Centennial was opened May 1, 1897. 
flune 11, 1897. 











112 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


The Presidential party stayed to aid 
The Cincinnati dedication grand,— 

Maggie may tell the rest; it cannot fade; 

The Park was beautiful as fairyland. 

Margaret. Truly, in that two hundred acre park, 
The grassy lawns, flower-bordered walks, fine trees 
And rivulets are worthy of remark; 

And many buildings could not fail to please. 

Margaret describes the Buildings and -ex¬ 
hibits. 

We crossed Rialto Bridge o’er Grand Canal, 

And watched the gondoliers make graceful strokes; 
Our Memphis built a Pyramid of Cheops 
Of painted planks, —I must not tire the folks. 

Adam. Fear not, thou sweet-voiced daugh¬ 
ter of the South, 

Sweeter than Chrysostom of golden mouth. 

Ann. Yes, Maggie dear, we love to hear 
you talk; 

Now I should go; it must be one o’clock. 
Elmer. Please tell us something first? 
Eva. About that Fair? 

Ann. Firstly, we went to see the people there; 

One day last fall, I said to Adam here: 

To-morrow is our silver-wedding day; 

Let us go to the Fair; we did that year, 

Our secret kept all day; what do you say? 







J. 



EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


113 


Agreed; and so we started on our tour 
Just as we did that morning long ago; 

We had a most delightful time, I’m sure, 

Going thro’ all the halls, and to a show. 

Just after noon an old gray-headed hind 

With others chanced to come along our way; 
He saw us and at length recalled to mind 
Us, five and twenty years ago that day. 

The others heard his words and found them true, 
They told it to the people at the Fair; 

Our friends congratulated us anew; 

We left with quite a load of silverware. 

Eva can tell you more; excuse me now. 


Exit Ann. 


Ida. Come, Eva, it's your turn to make a 
bow. 

All. Eva! 

Eva. My folks and 1 went to the Fair; 

The day was fine, we had a pleasant drive 
Across the country in the open air; 

Uncle and aunt were there; saw us arrive. 

I love to wander thro’ the Fine Arts Hall 

And view the pictures, garments of all kinds, 

And relics of creation large and small; 

An listening to the music soothes our minds. 

In Agricultural Hall we always see 
Those pumpkins big and round, and piles of fruit, 
Tho’ large and pleasing to the eye it be 
We may not taste to see if it would suit. 


f 








114 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


I like to ride upon the ocean-wave; 

Or walk with Adam round the live-stock pens 
And hear him name the animals so brave; 

Or go with my dear aunt to see the hens. 

Oh, yes, I rode the merry-go around; 

Our uncle has more friends than one believes; 

I walked with him and aunt across the ground— 
I’ve heard of people laughing in their sleeves. 

Elmer. Not at you, Eva. 

Ida. No, not you, indeed. 

Eva. Make Elmer talk. 

All. Elmer! 

Ida. Come, Captain, lead. 

Elmer. Not long ago I read a charming tale 
In verses sweet, six hundred lines or more, 
Reminding me of Ida at full sail 
With all her wished-for skill and power and lor 

Once by a fountain on a mountain side, 

A lovely happy maiden lived alone 
Within a wondrous cavern deep and wide; 

With rosy light afar her beauty shone. 

All living creatures came to see the maid, 
Enchanted by her kindliness and power; 

Rare treasures in the ample cave were laid, 

Like thoughts within a poet’s mind, her dowei 

She had a magic boat that swiftly bore 

Her up, or down, the rapid mountain streams; 
She made a flying creature that could soar 
And bear her thro’ the air like one in dreams. 
Marvelous power this lady could command, 
According to “the poet of Cdoudland.’’ 







EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 115 

Ida. Surely, The Witch of Atlas is your 
theme; 

I think that poem is a fine day dream. 

i 

Elmer. The lady is in my interpretation 
Our own poetical imagination, 

j 

Ida. Poor Percy Shelley did not cease to 
sing 

Tho’ dark the day; he kept his own wild 
way, 

Until like some wild bird with broken wing 
He sank before the storm in that dark bay, - 
Excuse me, I must make my final bow. 

Exit. 

i 

Margaret. Uncle, will you take up the 
burden now? 

i 

Adam. Sometimes I think that we might 
serve as parts 

Of some grand allegory; Ida thus 

May be our youth; Elmer, our manly arts: 

My wife and I were once unanimous. 

Elmer. Your Scripture views are scarce 
harmonious? 

Adam. Many words found in works of 
inspiration 

May be of many-sided application. 


i 









116 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer. Men differ much on Christ’s di¬ 
vinity; 

And on the doctrine of the Trinity? 

4 

Adam. Some say, “we are entitled to 
assume* 

Reality” and ties that life may bloom. 

When I was studying philosophy, 

We were perplexed and floundered in a sea 

Of doubt and dark despair, until I said, 

To my bright chum one winter night in bed: 

“Let us assume and hold as truth with zeal 

That God exists, that he can see and feel. 

That he is love and Jesus is the Christ. 

His peer has not appeared; be thus enticed? 

If we exalt him to omnipotence, 

Who will condemn us for it ages hence? 

Come now, have done with doubts and 
needless strife: 

Love God and man, and live with joy this 
life. 

Margaret. Do that and you will find 
abundant proof. 

Elmer. Perhaps I should not stand so 
much aloof. 

Adam. Before his Advent Christ was hid¬ 
den treasure, 

*McCosh. 














EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


117 


His spirit came to holy men by measure;* 

Since then to bless and save has been his 
pleasure. 

Elmer. I spent an hour this morning look¬ 
ing: at 

Your books on archaeology, so fat; 

Nothing would please me better than to 
read, . 

Except to help the Cubans at their need; 

If I should read the books upon that shelf 

I’d soon be seeking Eden like yourself. 

Adam. For a long time, I thought our first 
home lay 

Upon the mountains of Armenia. 

Elmer. The German in his book, Wo lag 
das Paradies? 

Looks to Euphrates’ mouth, not to its rise? 

Adam. He deals with legends of a later day 

Told by a tribe that came around that way. 

Eva. Uncle, please tell us where the gar¬ 
den lay. 

Adam. Dr. Miller in his Har-Moad tries 
To prove the Garden lay on high Pamir 

In Central Asia, where great rivers rise; 

Altho’ some things do not appear quite clear. 

♦Acts 2 : 16 . 










118 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


I think the Garden was once near Cabul; 

Then was the Khyber Pass its eastern gate; 

The Jhelum River bounded Adam’s rule 
As later that of Alexander th’ Great. 

Cain and his alien tribe, the sons of men, 

Beyond that river dwelt in th’ land of Nod; 

They built a town, and forges in the Glen; 

In worldly wisdom, rivaled “the sons of God.” 

Margaret. It seems that men lived long- 
in olden times; 

Perhaps they lived in favored lands and 
climes? 

Adam. Often the patriarch and all his clan. 
Like Israel, are mentioned as one man, 

Elmer. Our modern science may prolong- 
again 

The lives of both the women and the men. 

Adam. This old grape-vine which runs 
around is fine; 

When grapes are ripe, I often pluck a bunch 
And come in here to sit and rest and dine. 

Eva. Ida is calling us to come to lunch. 

Exeunt. 

P. M. — On the Island. 

Elmer and Margaret. 

Elmer. We are the first to step upon the 
island. 









EDEN, OR THREE DAYS. 


119 


Margaret. Let us now rest awhile here 
on the dry land; 

Be careful, Eva, lest you miss the stones; 

If she should fall, it might not break the 
bones. 

Eva enters. 

Eva. There I have walked across the 
stream dry-shod, 

By balancing myself with the fishing-rod. 

Ida enters. 

Ida. There we have gotten over safe and 
sound; 

Now we will climb up on this little mound. 

And view this rocky island all around. 

They climb up. 

We’re all aboard the old side-wheel steam¬ 
ship, 

Rock Island, bound down stream for her 
sea-trip. 

Elmer. The passengers sit on the paddle 
box, 

The opposite box is that huge pile of rocks. 

Eva. This ship has trees for masts with 
yards and sails; 

They stood and rode all right thro’ man\ 
gales. 








120 EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 

Margaret. And that great hollow stub is 
her smoke-stack, 

From which in calms the smoke will come 
out black. 

Ida. That slender, leaning tree will serve 
as bowsprit; 

This ship is rigged and manned all right, I 
know it; 

While this nice breeze shall waft our ship 
along, 

Miss Eva, will you sing for us a song? 

Eva. Maggie, please tell us something- 
now; won’t you? 

Elmer. Tell us a tale of chivalry, please do. 

Margaret. A king once offered as the 
prize for might 

A diamond large and fair which he had 
shown; 

His friend the chief of knights desired to 
to fight 

For it in joust, as knight to fame unknown. 
Margaret tells about Lancelot and Elaine. 

Elmer. I think that Lancelot did very 
wrong, — 

Ida, do not forget that promised song. 


T 










EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


121 


Ida sings. 

Calm was the night, 

The moon shone bright, 

The sea rolled in with scarce a moan 
When Dewey’s fleet first came in sight 
Of Spanish forts on far Luzon. 

Two loud reports 
Came from the forts; 

The shells above our warships tore; 

Our guns spoke out their hot retorts; 
Then, all were silent as before. 

At break of day 
The first of May; 

Our seaman sailing up the bay 
Saw Spain’s great squadron as it lay 
Before Manila in array. 

The flagship led 
When just ahead 

Two heavy mines threw high in air 
A mass of water vast and dread; 

Our ship steamed on thro’ foul and fair. 

The fight began 
When Dewey ran 

His ships within the Spaniards’ range; 
He dazed them by his daring plan 
To mar their aim by constant change. 

With splash or yells 
The Spanish shells 
Flew low or high about our ships; 

While ours turned theirs to horrid hells 
Of flying splinters, fire and chips. 






122 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Our ships retired, 

The chief desired 

Our men to rest and breakfast eat. 

Once more they charged, with fury fired 
And soon destroyed the Spanish fleet. 

We lost no man, 

Nor ship nor gun. 

Manila at our mercy lay; 

Was ever greater victory won 
Than the battle of Manila Bay? 

Elmer. I knew that you were loyal to 
The work our country has to do! 

Eva. Where shall we find those apples all 
of gold, 

Of which so many stories have been told? 

Ida. The first we find shall be for you, 
dear child. 

Elmer. If you once saw those apples 
growing wild, 

Never in life could you be reconciled. 

Margaret. In southern Georgia there is a swamp 
Of vast extent, at times a lake, the source 
Of the St. Mary’s River; there a camp 
Of angels stands beyond its upper course. 

Many a hunter at a distance saw 
This blissful “Isle of Founts, in golden light;’’ 

Its women fairer far than artists draw 

Mid flowers and fruit and streams of water bright. 

In vain the hunters sought to reach that place; 

Each lost his way and must his steps retrace; 

But ever after each beheld that scene, 

He lost all joy in life, distrait in mien. 






EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


123 


Ida. Some people long to see “the better 
land, ” 

Jesus in glory and the angels grand; 

But after that how could they he content 
To labor here till their probation’s spent. 

Margaret. Mrs. Hemans wrote some beau¬ 
tiful lines 

About this “Isle of Founts,” the lake 
enshrines. 

Elmer. Let me repeat a verse of hers 
which looks 

Quite personal, from one of our school-books: 
I go “where the feathery palm-trees rise, 
And the date grows ripe under sunny skies: 
Or ’midst the green islands of glittering’ sers, 
Where fragrant forests perfume the breeze, 
And strange, bright birds, on their starry 
wings, 

Bear the rich hues of all glorious things.” 
We will drive out the cruel Spanish band 
And make the Isle a free and “ better land. ” 

Ida. I’m very fond of life; it seems to me 
So bright and fair, so beautiful and free; 
Cuban resources, riches great, could give; 
The Spanish rulers should let others live. 

Elmer. Instead of wretchedness and gaunt 
starvation, 

Cuba could feed ten times her population. 

Ida. Mrs. Hemans is elegant and sweet, 
But all too sad for readers’ daily meat. 








124 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Eva. I know by heart her Voice of Spring 
so glad, 

But the last part of it is rather sad. 

Elmer. When I come back from my great 
expedition, 

This ship will have returned to this position. 

Margaret. The solid South according to 
reports 

Will help McKinley storm the Spanish forts. 

Elmer. The northern and the southern 
states have all 

Responded promptly to McKinley’s call. 

To-night, I’ll go to town to home and friends. 

To-morrow to the camp to make amends. 

Margaret. Let’s walk around the deck 
and view the tide. 

Ida. Well, here comes father, now, with 
bait and pole. 

Adam enters. 

Elmer. Where do you fish? 

Adam. Along the other side, 

Below the pile of rocks, near that deep 
hole - Exeunt. 

EVE. —Under the Oaks. 

Elmer and Margaret. 

Margaret. That is a cool and most re¬ 
freshing breeze; 

Let us sit down and rest near these oak trees 






EDEN, OR THREE DAYS. 


125 


Elmer. Here is a nice seat facing to the 
highland; 

Have you enjoyed our trip to Rocky Island? 

Margaret. I’ve had a most delightful 
time, to-day, 

In this new Eden, or Arcadia; 

Look at the sunset gold and purple rays, 

Elmer. Maggie, would you like to live 
here always? 

Margaret. Yes, but HI not impose on 
such kind friends. 

Elmer. They do desire your stay, and all 
depends 

Upon your own sweet will, my love, my life; 

Say, Maggie, will you be my own dear wife? 

They want you to prolong this glad sojourn. 

And stay with them at least till I return. 

Margaret. Our fathers both were soldiers, 
yours a Yankee, 

Mine served his native State; perhaps they 
fought 

Facing each other; should men call us cranky, 

To honor them in this as children ought? 

Elmer. Children should honor men who 
fought for homes. 

Margaret. I can not answer you until my 
uncle comes. 

Will not your parents surely say to you;- 

“ Is there no woman beautiful and true 







126 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


I 


Among the daughters of your native North. 

That you should choose this girl of southern 
birth?” 

Elmer. I do not think my parents would 
object; 

Mother will welcome glad whom I select. 

Margaret. I know my relatives will not 
consent; 

They might our presence openly resent. 

Elmer. We could live here in this delight¬ 
ful place; 

Adam has offered terms to me, with grace. 

Margaret. I shall stay here a week or 
two with Ida; 

Our folks may not return before next Friday. 

Eva enters. 

Eva. Elmer, they have received a telegram 

For you; I fear it is from Uncle Sam. 

Elmer. Thank you, Eva. [Exit Elmer. 

Eva. Here is a letter brought 

By uncle; saying just the things we thought. 

I am so glad, they will tell us about 

Dear aunt down South; oh, won’t I jump 
and shout. 

Margaret. My mother and my sister both 
are well. 

Getting along all right; I’m glad they tell. 

Eva. Elmer is coming now with grip and 
wheel. 








EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


127 


Elmer re-enters. 

Elmer. Eva, will you help Ida get the 
meal? 

Aunt is not well; I must go home; good-by. 

Eva. I’ll go and try; do come back soon; 
good-by. Exit. 

Margaret. Elmer, 1 see a shadow in your 
face ? 

Elmer. Yes, I must part from you and 
this dear place. 

Margaret. You have received your call, 
and go to-night? 

Elmer. Yes, I must hasten while the moon 
gives light. 

Margaret. I’m very sorry that you must 
now leave us; 

Eva, poor child, her sorrow will be grievous; 

Your presence gives to us great joy, believe 
us. 

Elmer. In your sweet presence, I have 
found far more 

Happiness than I ever dreamed before; 

Maggie, I have sincerely loved you so, 

Ever since I saw you a year ago. 

I have been very happy; come what may, 

This much I say, and thank you for to-day. 

Margaret. I should not trouble you now, 
do not let me; 

Think of some other girl and so forget me. 









128 


EDEN, OR THREE DAYS 


Elmer. Do not ask that; please grant this 
much to me, 

At least, that I may sometimes think of you; 

If I should die fighting for liberty, 

Let me then think of you, a sweetheart true. 

Oh, Maggie, may I ask, may I not hope 

For this, when I sleep on some southern slope? 

Margaret. Elmer, I do love you with all 
my heart; 

Urge me no further now, for we must part. 

Elmer. Now I can go with joy and lead 
my men 

To victory or death; I may not fall, — 

Margaret. Heaven shield you and make 
you strong as ten; 

We will pray fervently for you and all. 

Elmer. Dear, you have crowned for me 
these days of joy; 

And now my parents want to see their boy. 

Margaret. Dearest, will you assist me to 
the walk? 

I feel too strangely faint and weak to talk. 

Elmer. Lean on my arm; are you sick, 
dearest say? 

Margaret. I felt so faint, but that has 
passed away. Exeunt. 




















